Albany State’s Matt Delay homered and drove in five runs against the University of Tampa in an upset versus the nation’s top-ranked team in NCAA Division II baseball.
Delay had a game to remember on Tuesday, belting a grand slam while being down 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth-inning for a 8-6 win over the DII baseball national powerhouse. Delay was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, a grand slam home run and 5 runs batted in.
Both teams traded runs in the first inning for a 1-1 tie. Tampa would get 3 runs in the top of the second inning taking a 4-1 lead. Albany State scored 2 runs in the bottom of the third making it only a 4-3 deficit.
Tampa added a run in the top of the fourth for a 5-3 lead. Albany State added a run in the bottom of the frame bring them back to within a run, but Tampa would get a run in the sixth to go up 6-4.
As the bottom of the eighth unfolded, Albany State began with Emory Stephens hitting a single, followed by a walk to Nathan Saavedra. Stephens advanced to second base, and Isaiah Haygood also walked, loading the bases. Saavedra then moved to second base, and Stephens advanced to third. At this crucial moment, Delay stepped up to the plate and hit a pivotal 3-2 pitch over the right field wall for the grand slam, sealing the 8-6 upset victory.
In addition to Delay’s remarkable performance, Hill Corley contributed with two hits. Austin Roberts went 1-for-4 with one run batted in, Luke Addison finished 1-for-5 with one RBI, and Saavedra had a 1-for-3 outing while scoring two runs.
Albany State’s starting pitcher, Quindon Wright, allowed four earned runs in 2.0 innings. In relief, Calvin Baker performed well, giving up just one run and striking out four batters across 3.0 innings of work. Gercal Reyes (W, 2-0) had two strike outs in 2.0 innings and recorded the win.
The University of Tampa is currently the No. 1 ranked team in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll.
Albany State head coach Scott Hemmings state “I’m really proud of the way the guys played today. The first four innings were kind of the story of our season. A lot of self-inflicted wounds errors walks, not squaring up balls on offense . And then all of a sudden the team showed up that I knew I had recruited when we began the season in August. I told them from the first practice that we had a regional contender team, but needed to really work hard because of the tough schedule we were playing. And I hope tonight that the team sees that when they play within a system, they can beat anybody. You always look back at one play or one game that was the turning point of the season and I hope in May that we’re looking back at Matt Delay‘s grand slam saying that was what got us going. We will enjoy tonight and then get ready for our big weekend series.”