Riliani Familia homer lifts Albany State baseball past Clark Atlanta

ALBANY — All season long, Riliani Familia has carried Albany State’s baseball team with his bat.

The team’s leader in batting average and home runs, Familia was Albany State’s first batter in the top of the ninth inning in Friday’s SIAC Tournament game against Clark Atlanta. The game was a back-and-forth affair, tied when Familia stepped to the plate for his final at-bat of the afternoon.

He did not disappoint Albany State’s fans, wrapping a long fly around the left-field foul pole for a solo home run. The Golden Rams preserved the one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, claiming an 8-7 victory to remain in the winners’ bracket.

“That’s about the third or fourth home run he’s hit on this field to end this game,” ASU head coach Scot Hemmings said. “He was a phenomenal player when he was at Darton, and he’s still a phenomenal player today.”

Albany State, the Eastern Division champion, takes on Miles, the Western Division champion, at 10 a.m. on Saturday at ASU’s West Campus Field. The winner moves into Sunday’s championship round, with the loser forced to play an elimination game at 6 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of the 2 p.m. elimination game between Claflin and Kentucky State.

The homer was the second of the day for Familia, going along with a solo shot in the fifth. He also walked in a run with the bases loaded in the sixth and had a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

“I sat there and said, ‘I will do my best, I will get on base for my teammates,’ ” Familia said. “I got a first-pitch ball, and the second one was a fastball in and I hit it out. The only thing I can say is, that’s baseball.”

Familia’s homer allowed ASU reliever Tristan Rice to cap a strong relief performance in which he went 4-1/3 innings to pick up the victory.

Rice, who came on in the fifth inning to replace starter Roman Oliu, struck out nine and walked five while giving up two runs on six hits.

While things became a little dicey in the bottom of the ninth for Rice, he worked his way out of the jam with his pitch selection and placement.

Rice put the first two batters on base in the ninth on a base hit and a bunt single. He picked up a pair of strikeouts, only to face Clark Atlanta’s Raphael Andrades, whose 4-for-5, three-RBI game included a pair of homers.

Andrades was walked on five pitches, loading the bases for Jordan Johnson. Rice struck Johnson out, securing the victory.

“When it came down to the nitty gritty at the end, that’s when it mattered,” Rice said. “We got a big home run to left field by Familia that fueled us, and then (I) stayed in there and made some good pitches. It was unbelievable.”

Nic Griggs had a strong day offensively for ASU, going 3-for-6 with two RBI. Tyler Morris went 2-for-4. Oliu struck out seven in 4-2/3 innings of work.

Shahir Gates went 3-for-5 for Clark Atlanta. Victor Brown, who came on in relief to start the ninth, took the loss.

Miles beat Tuskegee 4-3 in Friday’s other winners’ bracket game. Friday’s early elimination games saw Claflin beat Paine 11-9 and Kentucky State beat Lane 18-0. In Friday’s late elimination games, Claflin beat Clark Atlanta 14-4 and Kentucky State beat Tuskegee 5-4.