Albany State baseball got off to a smashing good start in their three-game series with the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University, handing out a pair of beatdowns to the tune of 10-3 and 20-8, respectively.
In game 1 the Golden Rams bats got right to work scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, the first coming on a Lavoisier Fisher solo blast to left field. Later in the inning a two-run single off the stick of Malik Bell drove in Nathan Lloyd and Nick Hernandez.
Albany State scored again in the fourth inning when a Zane Ross single plated Hill Corley and Bell to make the score 5-0. Lachlan Ross‘ single to left field brought home TJ Thomas, giving the Golden Rams a 6-0 advantage.
Nick Hernandez’s three-run shot over the left-center fence put Albany State up 9-0. Hernandez’s second homer of the day, a solo dinger in the 8th brought the count to 10-0.
Tukegee would finally get on the board in the eighth inning, via a Mark Hatch three-run homer, bringing the score to its final mark of 10-3.
Ram pitcher Jonathan Henry, in eight innings struck out 10 Golden Tigers, allowing 8 hits and giving up 3 runs in getting the victory, giving him a 6-0 record on the season.
Game two did not go much better for the Golden Tigers.
Tukegee would find themselves in 6-0 hole after just a half inning of play. Malik Bell hit a grand slam in the opening frame and Hill Corley and Tucker Jordan added solo shots of their own. A wild pitch in the second made the score 7-0.
Joshua Lewis’ single up the middle in the bottom of the third plated the Golden Tigers’ first run of the day.
The Albany State offense got back to work in the top of the fourth, scoring two more runs from a Tucker Jordan double, making the score 9-1.
A seven-run fifth inning put the Golden Rams 16-1.
Tuskegee scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, coming on a Raymond Henderson three-run shot, making the score 16-4.
The Golden Rams added four runs of the top of the sixth. The first came after a throwing error following a Tucker Jordan RBI single, which allowed all the Ram baserunners to advance, including Tyler McConnell, making the score 18-4. Jaelyn Brooks’ RBI scored Hill Corley and Qunitard Wright’s ground out plated Jordan , bringing the score to 20-4.
Richard Smith reached on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning which scored Jaylan Jones, to make the score 20-5. Raymond Henderson’s three-run homer later in the inning brought the proceedings to their final count at 20-8.
