COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the second time in their weekend series, the Benedict College baseball team won with a walk-off grand slam. Nicholas Gioia hit a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Tigers to a 23-13 victory over Albany State on Sunday at Tiger Field.
 
The Tigers, now 10-9 overall and 8-9 in the SIAC, hit nine home runs in the game, with Gioia hitting two out of the park and drove in five runs. Kenyan Conner Jr. also hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs. Justin Murray went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in Benedict's nine-run first inning and drove in five total runs. Isaiah Canty, Jonathan Olmedo, Juan Guardado and Ri'shon Pearl also had home runs. On Saturday, Canty hit a walk-off grand slam in the first game of their doubleheader.
 
The Tigers jumped out with nine runs in the first inning and added three more in the second for a 12-0 lead. Benedict had a 16-5 lead after the fourth inning. The Golden Rams, now 15-14 overall and 10-8 in the SIAC, cut the lead to 16-13 after scoring six runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth.
 
Pearl hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Guardado hit a one-out, two-run homer to make it 19-13. After a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases, Gioia hit a two-out shot to clear the bases and end the game.
 
The Tigers will be back in action next weekend with a three-game SIAC series against Morehouse at Tiger Field. They will play a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m., then play a doubleheader on Sunday starting at noon.