Albany, GA - The Albany State Golden Rams showcased their dominance in a three-game series against the Clark Atlanta Panthers, claiming a 2-1 series victory. The Rams displayed strong offensive performances and solid pitching, securing victories in the first two games before falling short in the series finale.
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Game 1: Albany State 7, Clark Atlanta 1
The Golden Rams set the tone in the series with a 7-1 victory. Clark Atlanta initially led with a sacrifice fly from Tucker Love, scoring Sean Stewart. Albany State quickly tied it with
Emory Stephens' sacrifice fly in the second inning.
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Albany State then took charge, with Trent Justice's RBI single making it 2-1 in the third. Nate Saavedra hit a two-run homer in the fourth, followed by
Luke Addison's RBI single, pushing the lead to 5-1. The Rams added two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
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Pitcher
Gercal Reyes excelled, throwing eight innings with four hits allowed and five strikeouts, while
Calvin Baker closed out the ninth.
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Game 2: Albany State 5, Clark Atlanta 2
The Golden Rams secured a 5-2 victory in Game 2, benefiting from Clark Atlanta's defensive errors that led to three unearned runs in the second inning.
Austin Roberts hit a two-run single, giving Albany State a 3-0 lead.
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Clark Atlanta cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fifth, but the Rams responded in the sixth with an RBI sacrifice fly from
Isaiah Haygood and an RBI double from
Matt Delay, extending their lead to 5-1. Clark Atlanta added one more run in the seventh, but it wasn't enough.
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Landon Kiefer dominated on the mound for Albany State, pitching a complete game with 10 strikeouts, allowing just five hits and one earned run.
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Game 3: Clark Atlanta 6, Albany State 4
The Panthers avoided a series sweep with a 6-4 victory in the final game. Clark Atlanta jumped to a 3-0 lead by the third inning, aided by an error and a sacrifice fly from
Andrew Leonard.
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Albany State responded in the bottom of the third with a two-run double from Mason Turner, narrowing the gap to 3-2. However, Clark Atlanta extended their lead to 6-2 with a three-run fourth inning. The Golden Rams mounted a late rally in the seventh with RBIs from Addison and Justice but fell short.
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Despite the loss, Albany State's offense, highlighted by Justice, Saavedra, and Delay, remained strong throughout the series as they look ahead to their next conference matchup.
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Up Next
The Golden Rams return home for a midweek non-conference match on April 1 to face Columbus State. With their momentum building, Albany State looks to continue their strong performance as they push deeper into the season.
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ABOUT ALBANY STATE ATHLETICS
Albany State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently field teams in 11 sports: women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's track and field, women's soccer, baseball, and football. All teams compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), except women's soccer, which participates in the Peach Belt Conference.
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