Nashville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team’s 30-game Atlantic Sun Conference slate begins this weekend.
It travels down Interstate 24 to face defending ASUN champion Lipscomb in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, on Ken Dugan Field.
The three-game set against the Bisons is scheduled to start on Friday at 3:00pm, with games following on Saturday at 2:00pm and on Sunday at 1:00pm. Last season, Lipscomb won the three-game ASUN series in Clarksville, 2-1.
On The Mound For The Govs
Austin Peay State Univerisity right-handed pitcher Jacob Weaver looks to build on a career-best seven-inning outing at Auburn last weekend. He allowed five runs in the start against the Tigers and has allowed five runs in each of his first four starts. Weaver also has struck out 21 batters in 22.2 innings and ranks ninth among ASUN pitchers in strikeouts.
Righty Andrew Devine enters conference play ranked No. 2 in strikeouts with 29 Ks in 24.0 innings pitched. However, he has held opponents to a .133 batting average, which is the best among qualifying starters in the ASUN. Last week, he held Auburn to two first-inning runs and tied his season-high with a seven-inning outing for his second quality start of 2024.
Left-hander Josh Howitt has been the APSU Govs No. 3 starter in three of the season’s first four weekends. He went an inning-plus at Auburn last week and allowed four runs to suffer his first loss of the season. Howitt has 12 strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched, and opponents are only batting .200 against him.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University center fielder John Bay notched his seventh home run of 2024 against Western Kentucky Tuesday. It was his second home run in three games, including a two-run shot at Auburn last Saturday.
Right fielder/first baseman Harrison Brown made a late defensive appearance against Western Kentucky on Tuesday and got a turn at bat. He missed four games while working through an injury that has made him a day-to-day decision in the Govs’ lineup.
Utility man Jaden Brown has started in right field, second base, and third base and has been the APSU Govs’ designated hitter this season. On Tuesday, he saw an eight-game hit streak, which included all 10 of his RBI this season, end against WKU.
Catcher Trevor Conley extended his hit streak to nine games with a base hit at Auburn in the series opener Friday. However, he suffered an injury in that game and has missed the Govs’ last three games.
APSU catcher Keaton Cottam made his first start as a Governor against UMES on February 25th and promptly went 2-for-4 at the plate. He is batting 3-for-7 this season.
Catcher Gus Freeman returned to the plate in Sunday’s UTRGV series finale after missing the previous eight games. He appeared in four games since Conley’s injury and was 3-for-9 with two RBI.
Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar was one of three Austin Peay State University Govs with five hits during the Auburn series, and he was 5-for-13 with two doubles and three RBI. He extended his current hit streak to six games with a 1-for-5 effort against WKU Tuesday.
Austin Peay State Univesity right fielder Clayton Gray is batting .478 (11-for-23) with six RBI and eight runs scored in his last five games. He has been held hitless only twice in 15 games played this season.
Infielder Andres Matias made his fifth start this season at third base against WKU Tuesday. He made two stellar plays at third base during the start but could not translate that to the plate, where he is seeking his first hit since February 18th.
Lyle Miller-Green, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, has four multi-hit games in his last five games. He is batting .523 (11-21) in those previous five games and has moved his average up 77 points during an eight-game hit streak that started February 26th against Gonzaga.
Justin Olson had only one hit in the Auburn series, an RBI single in Game 1 that gave APSU a 6-5 lead. However, he walked twice in each of the series’ final two games and scored twice in Game 2.
Infielder Brody Szako made his first start at first base Tuesday against WKU, reaching base twice and scoring once. Last weekend, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in the APSU Govs’ Game 2 win at Auburn. It was his first RBI since the season’s opening week—two RBI at Mississippi State on Feb.21.
Infielder Mateo Hernandez and outfielder Nathan Barksdale have been part of the Govs’ “Hands Team,” each entering the game defensively when the APSU Govs are leading late.
APSU Govs Top Notes and Notables
Three SEC Dubs: With its March 9th win at Auburn, Austin Peay State University picked up their third victory against a Southeastern Conference foe this season. It is the fifth time in program history APSU has recorded three wins against the SEC in a season.
The 2024 Govs join the 1974, 1980, 1990, and 1996 teams with three SEC wins. This season’s version has one SEC game remaining on the schedule – a March 26th date at Ole Miss.
Govs Receiving Votes In NCBWA Poll: For a third consecutive week, APSU was among the teams receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Poll, released Monday. It is the first time since 2013 Austin Peay State University has received votes in any of the four national collegiate baseball polls.
Streaking Back To 2013: The 2024 APSU Govs’ nine-game win streak was the longest since a 16-win streak during a perfect month of May during the 2013 season. Despite seeing that win streak halted, Austin Peay State University’s 11-4 start is its best since that 2013 team, which went 13-2 in its first 15 games on the way to program-record 47 wins while completing a Three-Peayt of conference championships, and advancing to the NCAA’s Bloomington Regional Final.
About the Lipscomb Bisons
Beware of the Bisons. While Lipscomb is off to a 3-13 start this season, they enter this weekend with the nation’s 45th toughest schedule played. The Bisons have played a league-most nine games against teams in the RPI Top 100.
Lipscomb’s last eight games may be among the toughest slates in Division I over the past two weeks. The Bisons traveled to Kentucky and then-No. 15 Alabama on back-to-back weekends, suffering sweeps in both series. Lipscomb then traveled to Louisville for a pair of midweek games and took the Cardinals to extra innings before falling Wednesday.
Lipscomb is the defending ASUN regular season and tournament champion and was picked to win the league in the preseason poll… Four Bisons players were named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team: reliever Hayden Frank, catcher Austin Kelly, third baseman Trace Willhoite, and outfielder Alex Vergara. Kelly leads Lipscomb with 13 RBI while batting .242 with two doubles and two home runs.
Willhoite has a Bisons-leading six home runs and four doubles. He is batting .290 this season with 11 RBI. Vergara is batting .217 with five home runs and 12 RBI this season and has battled the strikeout bug with 24 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances.
On the mound, Game 2 starter Michael Dunkelberger has one of Lipscomb’s three wins this season and leads the team with 19 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. Game 1 starter Alex Brewer has 16 strikeouts in 19 innings but has allowed 23 runs in his four starts.
Series Details
The Series: 145 previous meetings in the series, which Austin Peay State University leads 73-71-1.
In Nashville: LU is 30-21 at home against APSU.
Last Season: Lipscomb won the series, 2-1.
Notably: Austin Peay State University’s win in the 2024 series finale stopped Lipscomb’s seven-game win streak in the series. The APSU Govs have lost five straight at Dugan Field, last winning on enemy territory on May 16th, 2017 in a 3-2, 11-inning affair. The series dates back to the 1931 season, Austin Peay State University’s first season of baseball.
Broadcast Information
Friday and Sunday’s games also are available on ESPN+ courtesy the Lipscomb Athletics Department.
Follow Along
Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay State University Athletics – www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
