Albany, GA— The number two seed Stillman College Tigers defeated the six seed Albany State University Golden Rams, 3-2, in the championship game of the 2011 SIAC Baseball Championship at Paul Eames Sports Complex.
The Tigers got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI by Casey Hall. Albany State responded when Eddie Mathis drove in a run in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1.
The Golden Rams took the lead, 2-1, in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by William Smalls but a sacrifice fly by Stillman’s Patrick Chamberlin tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the sixth.
With a man on second base in the bottom of the eighth, Chamberlin answered the call again with an RBI single to center field to drive in the winning run for the Tigers.
Josh Beal and Jarius Brown led the Tigers with two hits each. Four different Golden Rams finished with one hit apiece.
Tournament MVP Josh Cagle got the win for Stillman after pitching a complete game with 12 strikeouts and no earned runs. Albany State’s Ken Nesbitt struck out six batters in a losing effort.
With the win, the Stillman College Tigers advance to the NCAA South Regional at a location yet to be determined.
2011 SIAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Gene Moody, Tuskegee University
Brett Bullard, Claflin University
Breylon Emory, Claflin University
Josh Beal, Stillman College
Jarius Brown, Stillman College
Josh Cagle, Stillman College
Corbin Williams, Albany State University
Greg Johnson, Albany State University
Ken Nesbitt, Albany State University
William Smalls, Albany State University
Tournament MVP: Josh Cagle, Stillman College
Outstanding Coach of the Tournament: Donny Crawford, Stillman College