Clarksville, TN – The regular season’s final month begins in earnest when the Austin Peay State University baseball team looks to solidify its ASUN tournament standing with a three-game series against Central Arkansas, Friday-Sunday, at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.
The Governors and Bears open the series with a noon, Friday game. APSU and UCA continue the series with a Saturday 6:00pm matchup before concluding the series on Sunday at 1:00pm.
Austin Peay State University saw its four-week streak of ASUN series wins snapped by league-leading Florida Gulf Coast last weekend in Clarksville. The APSU Govs suffered their first ASUN series sweep – and second series loss – at the hands of the Eagles. APSU enters the UCA series seeking to end a four-game ASUN losing streak.
The Governors dropped into a tie for fifth place in the ASUN race. The APSU Govs are four games behind league-leading FGCU and two games ahead of four teams vying for the seventh and eighth spots in the ASUN Tournament. That group of four includes this weekend’s opponent, Central Arkansas.
Broadcast Information
ipTV: UCASports.com/watch (Friday)
ipTV: ESPN+ / ESPN App (Saturday and Sunday)
LIVE STATS: PeayStats.com
Series History
THE SERIES: One previous meeting. APSU leads 1-0.
NOTABLY: Austin Peay State University and Central Arkansas have met just once previously – the 2007 season opener for both teams. APSU won that meeting 10-2 with APSU Hall of Famer Shawn Kelley picking up the win after a seven-inning outing. Third baseman Tyler Farrar and designated hitter Ryne Mantooth had three hits and two RBI each in the win.
Climbing The Hill
Jacob Kush seeks a return to his form in the opening five weekends of the ASUN slate that saw him post a 3.00 ERA and record 28 strikeouts in 30 innings. He has allowed six runs in back-to-back starts against Jacksonville and FGCU prior to this weekend’s series.
In his last two road outings Lyle Miller-Green held Kennesaw State and Jacksonville to three runs and Austin Peay won both outings. He battled against FGCU but surrendered six runs and faced 11 batters in his shortest outing since Week 2 at Dallas Baptist.
Jacob Weaver took another step forward as a weekend starter, holding FGCU to one run in three-plus innings. He has a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts, all as the Govs No. 3 starter, and has eight strikeouts in 12 innings pitched.
First Hacks
Outfielder John Bay has six hits and six walks in the 10 games since his return to the lineup on April 14th. One of those hits was a seventh-inning grand slam at Jacksonville that put the Govs ahead for good in a series-clinching win.
Utility man Jaden Brown suffered his first hitless ASUN series against FGCU but reached base four times (three walks and a HBP). He extended his reached-safely streak to 21 games, becoming the fourth Govs hitter with a 20-game reached safely streak this season.
Catcher Trevor Conley saw a four-game hit streak come to an end in Game 2 of the FGCU series, but walked to drive in a run. He is batting .412 (7-17) in his last five starts.
Catcher Jacob Curtis returned from an injury on April 18th at Southern Illinois and has started the last two midweek games. He is 3-for-7 with three doubles and three RBI in those two starts.
Catcher Gus Freeman is batting .500 (6-12) in his last three starts, including a 3-for-5 outing in the FGCU series finale. It was his second multi-hit outing in his last three starts.
Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar went 6-for-14 (.429) with two doubles against FGCU, one of three Govs hitters to lead the team with six hits in the set. He remains the ASUN’s toughest batter to strikeout, striking out only once every 14.8 at-bats.
Infielder Conner Gore has started the last five games at first base in place of the injured Harrison Brown. He has two hits and two RBI in those five games.
It will be homecoming week for Clayton Gray, who hails from Cabot, Arkansas. The Govs outfielder is on a month-long tear at the plate, batting .423 (44-104) with 11 doubles, 12 stolen bases, and 35 runs scored in 23 games. He ranks eighth among Division I hitters with 20 doubles and has 19 stolen bases.
Outfielder Garrett Martin ranks 30th among Division I players in runs scored (55) and is 41st in the country with 15 home runs. He leads the Govs with a .795 slugging percentage in ASUN play, with 11 doubles and six home runs.
Lyle Miller-Green brings a 13-game hit streak into this week’s action and is batting .475 (28-59) with five doubles, six home runs, and 16 RBI. He also has an RBI in 10 of his last 11 games.
Designated hitter/pitcher Lyle Miller-Green and shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar were named to national watch lists on April 17th. The College Baseball Foundation named Miller-Green to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List, while it named Gazdar to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, recognizing the nation’s top shortstop.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
After this weekend’s trip west, the Austin Peay State University baseball team heads east to meet nationally-ranked Tennessee in a Tuesday 5:30pm CT outing at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
