Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team opens a four-game homestand with a Tropical Tuesday 4:00pm outing against former conference foe Southeast Missouri on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The APSU Govs are 6-2 at home this season but saw their six-game home win streak stopped with last Tuesday’s loss to Western Kentucky.
However, Austin Peay State University bounced back and won its Atlantic Sun Conference-opening series at Lipscomb last weekend. Meanwhile, Southeast Missouri is 2-6 away from home and has lost its last three road games.
On The Mound For The Govs
Right-hander Lyle Miller-Green takes the hill for his fourth-midweek start. He looks to bounce back after allowing seven runs over four innings against Western Kentucky last Tuesday.
The outing, which was his shortest start of 2024, was a departure from his first three appearances this season which saw him win all three outings while posting a 3.14 ERA.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University center fielder John Bay has a home run in four of his last six games. He is batting .333 (7-for-21) with nine RBI and has a .952 slugging percentage over those six games.
Right fielder/first baseman Harrison Brown returned to the APSU Govs starting lineup at Lipscomb and had a hit and RBI in all three games. Two of those hits were leadoff home runs and reached base at a .467 clip against the Bisons.
APSU utility man Jaden Brown had five hits during the Lipscomb series and has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games. He is batting .314 (16-for-51) during his reached safely streak.
Catcher Trevor Conley extended his hit streak to nine games with a base hit at Auburn in the series opener March 8. However, he suffered an injury in that game and has missed the Govs’ last six games.
Austin Peay State University catcher Keaton Cottam has two starts behind the plate this season. He started the February 25th game against UMES and the March 17th outing at Lipscomb.
Catcher Gus Freeman returned to the APSU Govs lineup March 9th at Auburn and went 2-for-5 with two RBI in his return. He has started five games and is batting .286 (4-for-14) since his return.
Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar ranks second in the ASUN with his .413 batting average but leads the league with 33 base hits through 19 games. Once again, he is the ASUN’s toughest batter to strikeout (5.4 K%) and is 21st nationally among qualifying batters at D1Baseball.com.
APSU right fielder Clayton Gray is batting .368 (14-for-38) with eight RBI and 11 runs scored in his last eight games. His 30 base hits this season is second in the ASUN (behind Gazdar) and his seven doubles ranks fourth in the league.
Infielder Andres Matias made his fifth start this season at third base against WKU on March 12. He made two stellar plays at third base in that 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, became the first ASUN batter to belt their 10th home run of the season, hitting No. 10 at Lipscomb on Sunday. The Bisons did their best to avoid his bat, walking him five times and hitting him twice as he reached base at a .667 clip in Nashville.
Justin Olson reached base in five of his 14 plate appearances at Auburn, March 8-10. However, he did not play at Lipscomb with the return of Harrison Brown to the lineup.
Austin Peay State University infielder Brody Szako had his first multi-homer outing of the season at Lipscomb Sunday, belting two solo shots and walking twice in the finale. He reached base in eight of his 15 plate appearances (.533 OBP) in Nashville.
Infielder Ambren Voitik had a quiet weekend at Lipscomb with one hit and two sac bunts over the three games. It ended a 10 game stretch that saw him bat .470 (16-for-34) with 12 RBI.
APSU infielder Mateo Hernandez and outfielder Nathan Barksdale have been part of the Govs’ “Hands Team,” each entering the game defensively when the Govs are leading late.
APSU Top Notes and Notables
Gazdar Fourth Gov To Win ASUN Weekly Award: Highlighted by his eight-RBI day at Lipscomb on Saturday, shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar picked up ASUN Player of the Week honors, Monday. In the Govs’ Game 2 win against Lipscomb he was 4-for-4 with a triple and a home run. He is the third Governors hitter with at least eight RBI in a game all time and was two RBI shy of the program record. For the week, Gazdar batted .412 (7-17) during the week with 10 RBI and had a double, a triple, and a home run over four games.
Three SEC Dubs: With its March 9 win at Auburn the Governors 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 26 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 has received votes in any of the four national collegiate baseball polls.
800 At The Hand: Entering this week’s action, Austin Peay State University has recorded 796 wins at its current location on campus. Originally Governors Park, when the facility hosted its first game on April 16th, 1970, the current site has been the Governor’s home for 55 seasons. It was renamed Raymond C. Hand Park during the 1993 season and renamed Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park at the start of the 2019 season.
About the Southeast Missouri Redhawks
Southeast Missouri visits The Hand after dropping a three-game series 2-1 to Western Kentucky – Austin Peay’s last midweek foe. The Redhawks are 2-2 in midweek outings, including an 8-3 victory at Missouri on Feb. 27. SEMO has lost its last two midweek games: March 5 at Middle Tennessee (8-2) and March 13 at Evansville (6-5).
Southeast Missouri was picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference’s Preseason Poll behind Little Rock and Morehead State. Redhawks outfielder Josh Cameron and starting pitcher Haden Dow were named to the Preseason All-OVC Team.
Cameron is batting .239 this season with three home runs and 11 RBI this season. He batted .304 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI during the 2023 season at Southeast Missouri.
Outfielder Michael Mugan has been the Redhawk’s big bat this season, bringing a .381 batting average, six home runs, and 19 RBI into Tuesday’s game.
The Redhawks used Sam Heyman in the season’s first two midweek outings, and he totaled 7.0 innings and allowed three runs to Murray State and Missouri. Alex Hayes has started the last two midweek offerings and has gone 4.1 innings, and allowed nine runs.
Series Details
The Series: 105 previous meetings in the series, which Southeast Missouri leads, 61-44.
In Clarksville: SEMO is 26-19 at The Hand.
Notably: APSU and SEMO met annually for 31 seasons (1992-2022) as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Governors and Redhawks also met 12 times in the OVC Tournament with SEMO winning 10 of the 14 tournament games between the teams. Austin Peay State University won the last three OVC series played in Clarksville (2016, 2018, 2022). APSU and SEMO first met in 1962 NCAA College Division Midwest Regional at Arkansas State, the Govs winning 2-1 en route to winning the region title.
Broadcast Information
The game will be available on ESPN+ with Stokes and Gould’s call simulcast on the broadcast.
Follow Along
Keep up to date with all Austin Peay State University baseball on the official website of APSU Athletics – www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
