Jonathan Logsdon, Brady Davis, Coach Scot Hemmings take SIAC awards

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Golden Rams took away the regular season title and the key players responsible were rewarded. Albany State's duo of Jonathan Logsdon and Brady Davis were voted the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, while Golden Ram Head Coach Scott Hemmings picked up the Coach of the Year highlighting the team's awards.

Logsdon was the biggest thorn in side of SIAC pitchers and Davis proved to be the league's best at getting them out. After leading ASU to its second regular season crown, Coach Hemming picked up the top coach honor. Along with Logsdon at second base, Davis and Landon Kiefer made the All-SIAC First Team as Starting Pitchers. Outfielder Luke Addison and Zane Ross received All-SIAC Second Team status, while Jordan Ackerman hit the books to the tune of a perfect 4.0 GPA as the Elite 14 awardee.

Leading the SIAC in four catgories, Logsdon was the not only the best lead-off hitter, but top batter of the 13-team league. The senior second baseman hit an impressive .521 with 62 hits in 119 at bats with 64 runs, 15 doubles, six home runs and 48 RBI against SIAC foes. The Leesburg, Ga., native held the Conference's best at batting average, OPS, hits and doubles. Logsdon produced 24 multi-hit contests, hit safely in 38 of 44 games played, lined five 4-hit games and finished the regular season on an 18-game hit streak. Overall, the second baseman batted .488 with 78 hits in 160 at bats with a 1.362 OPS with 19 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 52 RBI. He possessed a .756 slugging percentage, drew 32 walks and posted a .606 on-base percentage with 10 stolen bases.

Davis was a key hurler in helping ASU have the SIAC's lowest team ERA (4.03) and the second-lowest opponents' batting average of .282. The junior out of Brunswick, Ga., appeared in 13 games with 10 starts where he won 9 of 10 pitching decisions to earn the Pitcher of the Year award. Davis led the SIAC with a 2.73 ERA over 56.0 innings of work and held opponents to a .286 batting average. He fanned 47 hitters faced compared to 14 walks. Davis had nine of 13 appearances where he gave up only one or fewer earned runs, including a 6-hit shoutout against Savannah State over six frames of work. He also fanned six hitters two times coming against LeMoyne-Owen and Clark Atlanta.

For the second year in a row, Coach Hemmings garnered the Coach of the Year award. He led the Golden Rams to another 30-plus win campaign at 34-11 with a Regular Season best mark of 30-3 for a .909 winning percentage. Hemmings' ASU club led the SIAC in team batting average (.339), runs scored (443) and walks (281) at the plate, the best fielding percentage of .963 and the top pitching ERA of 4.03 and four shutouts. The Golden Rams swept eight of 11 3-game SIAC series and did not lose more than one game in any weekend trio of games.

Joining the two Player of the Year award winners on the All-SIAC First Team, Kiefer earned one of the three other Starting Pitcher spots. The Parrish, Fla., product tied Davis for the SIAC's lead in pitching wins of nine and went 9-1 overall. The sophomore logged 48.2 innings on the hill where he posted a 4.25 ERA over his 13 appearances and 12 starts. Kiefer held his hitters he faced to a low batting average of .253 and struck out 42 while he walked only 18. The second-year pitcher made four appearances without allowing an earned run and added four others where he gave up only one earned run. Landon had a season-high eight strikeouts against LeMoyne-Owen and six against Benedict College.

Turning to the Golden Ram outfield, Addison and Ross made quite a one-two punch. Addison accounted for the most runners driven in across the SIAC with 60 to his credit, while he was second in hits (67) and third in home runs (10). The Leesburg, Ga., native hit .403 (56 of 13) versus SIAC pitchers with eight doubles, seven home runs and 52 RBI. Overall, the sophomore recorded a .368 batting average with a 1.051 OPS, 50 runs scored, 10 doubles, a pair of triples, a .610 slugging percentage and 24 free passes. Addison hit safely in 35 of 44 games he played with seven games of 3-plus RBI, including a 7-RBI contest against Morehouse. Completing his season, Addison took the ball on the mound for 9.1 innings where he saved four games with a 0.96 ERA and nine strikeouts.

The second-batter in the ASU lineup, Ross did not give opposing pitchers any rest after Logsdon led off. Ross proceeded to hit a solid .430 in SIAC play (49 of 114) with 49 runs, three homers, 36 RBI and 35 walks. Overall, the senior from Sydney, Australia led the Conference with 40 walks, while he was third with 60 hits in 155 at bats (.387). The veteran Golden Ram touched home plate 55 times and stole 13 bases. He hit safely in 35 of 44 games and recorded four 4-hit games.

Completing the ASU honors, Ackerman worked his magic to a tune of a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and shared the Elite 14 honor. The junior marketing major out of South Daytona, Fla., made five pitching appearances covering four innings and struck out two.