May 1, 2025 | Luther Williams Field
A.D. Drew | Black College Nines Contributor
All Top Seeds Advance in Opening Round
Macon, GA | The 2025 SIAC Baseball Tournament opened with a bang on Thursday as the top four seeds all held serve in a day marked by offensive outbursts, momentum swings, and key pitching performances. The chalk held true, but it wasn’t without drama—particularly in a wild opening game between Savannah State and Benedict College.
Game 1: #3 Savannah State 11, #6 Benedict College 10
The day began with fireworks as Savannah State erased a seven-run fifth-inning deficit to edge Benedict 11–10 in a dramatic comeback. The Tigers from Benedict appeared in control after an eight-run fifth inning gave them a 10–3 lead. That frame included five unearned runs, with RBI hits from Cameron Haley and Jonathan Olmedo and multiple bases-loaded walks and hit-by-pitches.
But Savannah State clawed back, scoring a run in the fifth and a solo homer by J. Sandoval in the sixth. Then came a decisive six-run seventh inning, fueled by three hit batters, two walks, and clutch RBIs from Clarington, Sandoval, and B. Smith. R. Tuggle’s sac fly brought in the go-ahead run, and the Savannah bullpen shut the door. A. Perez earned the win in relief with 2.2 innings of solid work, while Benedict’s Nicholas Gioia was tagged with the loss in a brief but costly relief stint.
Game 2: #2 Edward Waters 10, #7 Tuskegee 1
Edward Waters dominated Tuskegee with a powerful performance on both sides of the ball, cruising to a 10–1 win. The Lions exploded for five runs in the second inning, highlighted by Dannon Smith’s 2-RBI single and Tyler Smith’s 2-RBI double. Misael Ramos added a sac fly in the third before Tuskegee broke through in the fourth with an RBI groundout from Scott Williams.
The momentum didn’t last long. Edward Waters tacked on three more in the fifth, aided by Ramos’ RBI double and Smith’s second sac fly of the game. Chase Morris added an RBI single in the seventh to round out the scoring. Anthony Bayy was in command on the mound, scattering eight hits over seven innings with one earned run. Josh Taylor struck out three in two perfect innings of relief. Tuskegee’s Amare Morgan took the loss, yielding eight earned runs in just over four innings.
Game 3: #1 Spring Hill 6, #8 Lane College 4
Spring Hill held off a power-hitting Lane squad in a 6–4 victory powered by timely hitting and strong relief pitching. Spring Hill plated a run in the first on a J. Taylor double, then answered Lane’s game-tying third-inning score with three runs in the fourth. A. Swader smashed a two-run homer after N. Hunter singled and stole second, and later scored on a defensive error.
Lane responded with solo homers from Eli Garcia and Jade Garcia in the fourth and added an RBI double from Tre Babbitt in the fifth to pull within 5–4. But the Badgers added an insurance run in the bottom half, capitalizing on another Lane defensive miscue. Starter M. Racobaldo earned the win with five innings of four-run ball, while reliever K. Bush shut Lane down over the final four innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Lane’s Ryan Kinney took the loss, surrendering five runs (three earned) in four innings.
Game 4: #4 Albany State 8, #5 Miles 5
Albany State capped off the day with a composed 8–5 win over Kentucky State. The Golden Rams struck early, scoring three runs in the first inning behind an RBI double from Jhamaal Sheppard and a two-run single from Brandon Mitchell. Miles trimmed the lead to 3–2 in the third on RBI singles from Emeka Nnorom and Isiah Ellis, but Albany quickly re-extended the lead with a three-run fourth, fueled by aggressive baserunning and a clutch two-out RBI single by Chris Thomas.
Miles mounted a late push, getting to within 7–5 on a two-run single from Chris Roberson in the sixth. But Albany added an insurance run in the seventh and got clean relief work from Luis Rodriguez and Dylan Glover to close it out. Albany’s Demari Johnson earned the win with five solid innings, and Rodriguez collected the save. Miles’ Derell McLemore took the loss after giving up six runs over 3.1 innings.
Day One Summary:
- All four higher seeds advanced, with Savannah State and Albany State escaping tough challenges.
- Comeback of the Day: Savannah State’s rally from 10–3 down to win 11–10.
- Pitching Performance of the Day: Anthony Bayy (Edward Waters) – 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 H.
- Clutch Hitting: Spring Hill’s A. Swader (HR, 2 RBI); Albany’s Brandon Mitchell (3 RBI).
Day Two Schedule – Friday, May 2, 2025
The tournament follows a double-elimination format, featuring eight teams. All games are held at Luther Williams Field. After the first day of play, the bracket has progressed as follows:
Game 5: Winner’s Bracket Semifinal
- Time: 9:00 AM ET
- Matchup: Savannah State (3) vs. Edward Waters (2)
- The matchup pits Savannah’s explosive offense against Edward Waters’ disciplined pitching and aggressive baserunning (5 steals on Day One). Expect fireworks early—whoever controls the first three innings may dictate the pace.
Game 6: Winner’s Bracket Semifinal
- Time: 12:00 PM ET
- Matchup: Spring Hill (1) vs. Albany State (4)
- This matchup will likely come down to pitching depth—Spring Hill’s bullpen has been tested, while Albany spread their workload efficiently. Expect Albany to push the pace early while Spring Hill leans on defensive execution and timely hits.
Game 7: Elimination Game
- Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Matchup: Benedict (6) vs. Tuskegee (7)
- The key matchup here is Benedict’s offense versus Tuskegee’s pitching staff, particularly how Amare Morgan or Rodney Mudd recovers from Thursday’s outing. Look for Benedict to attack early and test Tuskegee’s defense.
Game 8: Elimination Game
- Time: 6:00 PM ET
- Matchup: Lane (8) vs. Miles (5)
- The Golden Bears need a stronger outing from their pitching staff, which gave up eight runs on nine hits. Lane will need to minimize defensive miscues (3 errors on Day One) and extend at-bats against a Miles team that’s shown inconsistency on the mound. Expect a tight, grind-it-out contest with both teams fighting for survival.
A.D. Drew currently serves as the Director of Athletic Marketing at Morehouse College. Previously Drew has served as an independent consultant in athletic communications, having worked events such as The Celebration Bowl, MEAC-SWAC Challenge, Black College World Series, SWAC Championship Game, multiple SIAC championship events, and Gulf South Conference events, in addition to regular season sports and events at every NCAA and NAIA level. Drew has also completed athletic communications consulting work for institutions on NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA levels. Drew was previously the SIAC contributor to D2Football.com.
Drew does work for the Black College Sports Network, where he has worked as a producer, director, and on-air talent. Drew has provided either play-by-play or color analysis for the Orange-Blossom Classic, the Black College World Series, the GCAC (now HBCUAC) basketball tournament, SIAC Baseball, Softball, and Men’s Volleyball Championships, and regular season games for football, flag football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, and softball. Drew regularly hosts a podcast, the BCSN SportsWrap with Bryan and A.D., most Sundays on the BCSN.
Drew currently is a board member of the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association. Drew is a member of the College Sports Communicators. In the past, Drew has served as the Director of Administration for the Black College World Series (2022) and as the Director of Athletic Communications at Thomas University.