Written by Edythe Bradley
Albany State University’s Patrick Smith was named the East Division Baseball Player of the Week by the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after his outstanding performances in baseball games last weekend. The junior right fielder from Lithonia, Ga. earned the honor after leading the Golden Rams to a 2-1 record against conference foe, Benedict College on April 14-15.
Smith went 5-for-7 from the plate with a home run and two doubles in the three games, finishing with a .714 batting average and a 1.429 slugging percentage for the week. He scored three runs and drove in another nine runs with one stolen base. Smith, who was perfect in the field, also had a .750 on-base percentage while helping the Golden Rams take two of three against the Tigers.
Claflin University pitcher Darryl White was selected as the SIAC Baseball East Division Pitcher of the Week. Stillman College third baseman Paul Winterbottom and pitcher Taylor Gregory were named SIAC Baseball West Division Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
White pitched seven innings with seven strikeouts and just two walks in one appearance to earn his second weekly honor this season. The junior from Walterboro, SC finished the week with a 1-0 record, while giving up no earned runs and just four hits in the Panthers’ 18-0 win over Morehouse.
Winterbottom, a native of Calera, Ala., earned his second weekly honor this season after going 11-for-20 with two home runs and three doubles to finish the week with a .550 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage. The junior also scored seven runs along with six RBI and a stolen base a three-game sweep over conference-foe LeMoyne-Owen College.
A junior from Gordo, Ala., Gregory pitched seven innings with an impressive 14 strikeouts and just three walks in one appearance. He went 1-0 for the week, leading the Tigers to an 11-3 win over LeMoyne-Owen.
Smith and the Golden Rams will close regular season play against the Paine College Lions in a three-game series on Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, at Golden Rams Park. First pitch is 12 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
