Opening day of the 2026 SIAC Baseball Tournament delivered exactly what postseason baseball should: offense, pressure, late rallies and one major bracket-shaker. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament opened Thursday at historic Luther Williams Field, where the field is competing for the SIAC championship and the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA South Regional.
Across four games, SIAC teams combined for 78 runs and 88 hits, with three games reaching at least 20 total runs. By the end of the long opening day, No. 3 Edward Waters, No. 7 Miles, No. 1 Spring Hill and No. 4 Savannah State had moved into the winner’s bracket, while Benedict, Albany State, Kentucky State and Morehouse were pushed into elimination play.
No. 3 Edward Waters 12, No. 6 Benedict 11
Edward Waters opened the tournament with a 12-11 win over Benedict in one of the wildest games of the day. The Tigers jumped ahead with a five-run second inning, highlighted by home runs from Bobby Torres and Daniel Donaldson-Fountain, then used a three-run fifth-inning blast from Luis Nunez to build a 9-4 advantage.
Benedict refused to go quietly. The Tigers scored twice in the eighth on a Cameron Haley home run and then pushed across five runs in the ninth, cutting the deficit to one before Edward Waters escaped. Nunez led Edward Waters with a monster day, going 4-for-4 with a home run, double, three RBIs and three runs scored, while Benedict’s Milton Herring drove in four runs and Jaquez Akins went 3-for-4.
No. 7 Miles 15, No. 2 Albany State 11
The first true bracket-shaker of the tournament came in the second game, as Miles erased an early deficit and knocked off second-seeded Albany State, 15-11. Albany State came out swinging, scoring three in the first on an Arin Chevers home run and building a 10-4 lead after four innings.
Miles flipped the game in the middle innings, scoring four runs in the fifth before a six-run sixth changed the entire feel of the afternoon. The key — and most controversial — sequence came with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Michael Smith, representing Miles’ 10th run, broke for the plate on an attempted steal of home and was initially called out. After the umpiring crew came together, the call was changed to catcher’s interference on Albany State catcher Ryan Brown, allowing Smith to score, moving Zakry Licastro to second and Malachi Jeffries to third, and awarding Mason Lynch first base. The official scoring credited Lynch with reaching on catcher’s interference and Smith with scoring an unearne run.
The ruling kept the inning alive, and Miles immediately capitalized. One batter later, Gregory Willis doubled to center field, clearing the bases and turning the controversial call into a four-run swing that pushed the Golden Bears in front for good. Willis finished with five RBIs, while Lynch went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and Myles Wessels added three hits and three runs. Albany State got home runs from Chevers and Luke Addison, but the Golden Rams’ five defensive errors helped open the door for the Miles comeback.
No. 1 Spring Hill 8, No. 8 Kentucky State 1
Top-seeded Spring Hill handled its opening assignment with an 8-1 win over Kentucky State. The Badgers put the game away early with six runs in the bottom of the first, getting run-scoring hits from Jaylen Jones, John Webb and Gavin Moran before adding two more runs in the fifth.
Moran led the Spring Hill offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Webb added two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. On the mound, Donovan Monsees set the tone, working seven scoreless innings while allowing six hits and striking out four. Kentucky State avoided the shutout in the ninth on an RBI single by Ryan Campbell.
No. 4 Savannah State 11, No. 5 Morehouse 9
The nightcap started late and became another offensive showcase, with Savannah State outlasting Morehouse, 11-9. Morehouse struck first with two runs in the opening inning and added back-to-back solo home runs from Nicholas Pittman and Robert Robinson in the second to take a 4-0 lead.
Savannah State answered with seven runs in the bottom of the second, using a two-run single from Gavin Jusino, an RBI single from Jason Ramos, an RBI single from Julian Grier and a two-run double from Kidane Stephens to flip the game. Morehouse continued to battle, tying the game at 9-9 in the fifth on a bases-clearing triple by Tripp Braswell, but Savannah State reclaimed control in the eighth when Johan Sandoval hit a two-run home run.
Stephens led Savannah State with two hits, four RBIs and a double, while Grier scored three runs and Sandoval drove in two. Morehouse was powered by Robinson, who went 4-for-5 with a home run, four runs scored and an RBI, and Braswell, who drove in three.
Day One Takeaways
The opening day belonged to offense, but Miles’ comeback win over Albany State was the biggest result of the day. Spring Hill looked every bit like the top seed, Edward Waters survived a dangerous Benedict rally, and Savannah State showed late-game toughness in the finale.
Friday’s schedule sends Benedict against Albany State and Morehouse against Kentucky State in elimination games, while Miles faces Edward Waters and Spring Hill meets Savannah State in the winner’s bracket.