Clarksville, TN – Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar hit two home runs, the second kicking off a game-winning four-run rally as the Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team downed Jacksonville 10-8 in Saturday Atlantic Sun Conference on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (21-13, 9-5 ASUN) led until Jacksonville used a four-run seventh inning to take an 8-6 lead at the stretch. Jon Jon Gazdar sparked the Governors’ comeback when he led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run.
After Gazdar’s blast, Austin Peay State University kept applying pressure with a right fielder Harrison Brown single, center fielder John Bay being hit by a pitch, and first baseman Justin Olson surprising the Dolphins with a bunt single to load the bases.
Second baseman Ambren Voitik tied the game with his single to right field. After a strikeout, left fielder Clayton Gray gave the APSU Govs the lead when he beat out a potential double play, and Bay scored.
The APSU Govs tacked on an insurance run in the eighth due to a Jacksonville error. Gazdar reached on an error with one out before Harrison Brown reached on a fielder’s choice. Brown then advanced to second on a wild pitch, which proved crucial when Bay followed with a double down the left field line, allowing Brown to score and setting the final score.
For the second straight night, the APSU Govs turned to freshman DJ Merriweather to shut the door in the ninth. The Clarksville native allowed a leadoff double but retired the next three batters to close the game for his second-straight save.
The APSU Govs’ late rally gave Khaden Washington (1-1) his first Austin Peay State University victory. He pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, including striking out the side in order in the eighth inning.
Gazdar paced the APSU Govs’ 13-hit outing with his 2-for-5, three-RBI day, which included two home runs. Harrison Brown also had a home run and scored four times in his 2-for-4 outing. Voitik went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Jacksonville (15-18, 9-5 ASUN) saw its four-run seventh inning go for naught. The Dolphins started their push with a leadoff walk that moved to third via a wild pitch and a groundout. Left fielder Tyrell Brewer drove in the inning’s first run with a single.
Brewer stole second and then third base while shortstop Cade Hentz walked with two out. Center fielder Will Gale walked to load the bases before second baseman Justin Nadeau emptied the bases with a double, giving Jacksonville its first lead 8-6.
Jacksonville reliever Peyton Prescott (3-3) lost after allowing four runs on five hits over the final four innings. Nadeau had a four-RBI day, going 1-for-6 with a double and RBI groundout. Third baseman Tyler Hinrikus’ 2-for-4 day was the Dolphins’ only multihit outing.
In addition, the Governors’ three-home run day pushed them to 83 homers this season. They enter Sunday two home runs away from breaking the program record set during the 2017 season.
Austin Peay State University clinched the series win with Saturday’s victory, and they close the three-game ASUN series with Jacksonville
