Govs wrap fall practice slate, release 2011 schedule

APSU Men’s Baseball

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s baseball team recently wrapped up its fall practice schedule and head coach Gary McClure announced the program’s 2011 schedule, Thursday.

The Govs concluded their fall schedule before Thanksgiving and spent the largest portion of the slate bringing their 16 newcomers into the fold. In addition, Austin Peay saw seniors Jack Snodgrass and Ryne Harper, junior Greg Bachman and freshman Alex Belew return to the team after missing portions of the 2010 campaign.

That group joins a roster that will include 14 returning lettermen. However, the Govs only have five staring position players returning and will have to replace their entire outfield, which was lost to graduation. Austin Peay does return six pitchers who made an appearance last season.

Leading the group of returnees will be junior infielder/outfielder Jon Clinard, who was a second-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection last season, as well as first baseman John Hogan and outfielder Cody Hudson, who were each OVC All-Freshman team honorees.

“I went into the fall thinking that it was going to be very tough due to all the new faces and all the teaching we would have to spend our time on,” said McClure. “However, I was excited to learn that we had young guys who were already very physical and very advanced in the mental aspects of playing the game. So in the end, I was very happy with how the fall went as well and how our players picked up on things. Our intrasquad contests were very competitive on a daily basis and our Red vs. White World Series was extremely intense and played very well. I think this will be a team that fits my personality as a coach and will have a chance to be successful if they continue to work hard.”

McClure and the Govs now turn their attention to the 2011 schedule which begins February 18th when they host Valparaiso in a three-game series. APSU will play 10 of its first 12 games at Raymond C. Hand Park, including the Austin Peay Classic with Illinois State and Milwaukee, February 25th-27th, and the Governors Invitational with Eastern Michigan and Alabama A&M, March 4th-5th.

“I am eager to get started with the 2011 baseball season,” McClure said. “We will play our usual demanding schedule that will prepare us for a very tough OVC season, the tournament and, hopefully, an NCAA Regional. Along with the OVC schedule, we will play teams from many of the top leagues in the country.”

Austin Peay will travel to Mississippi, March 1st-2nd, for its only two road contests during that opening stretch. The Govs also will have key weekend series at Arkansas State and Illinois State before OVC play begins in late March.

Another key March fixture will be a March 16th night contest against Tennessee at Raymond C. Hand Park. It will be the first time the Vols have visited Raymond C. Hand Park.

“There is no doubt the schedule will be challenging, but that’s the way I prefer it,” McClure said. “We have Tennessee coming to Clarksville for the first time. It’s not easy to get an SEC team to play away from home, so I am grateful to their coaching staff for being willing to do this. This should be an exciting game for both our players and the city of Clarksville. It is my hope we can make this into a great event.”

In addition, the Govs will continue their home-and-home series with regional opponents Belmont, Evansville, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

The OVC slate begins with a three-game series at Murray State, March 26th-27th. In addition to that road trip, Austin Peay will travel to 2010 OVC tournament champion Jacksonville State (April 16th-17th), Morehead State (April 30th-May 1st) and UT Martin (May 20st-21nd). The Govs will host Eastern Illinois (April 2nd-3rd), Eastern Kentucky (April 9th-10th), 2010 regular-season champion Tennessee Tech (May 7th-8th) and Southeast Missouri (May 14th-15th) at Raymond C. Hand Park.

The top six teams at the end of the OVC regular-season race will qualify for the 2011 OVC Baseball Championship, which again will be held May 25th-29th at Pringles Park in Jackson.

Complete 2011 Baseball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Time(CT)
Fri, Feb 18	Valparaiso	Clarksville, Tenn.	3:00pm.
Sat, Feb 19	Valparaiso	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Sun, Feb 20	Valparaiso	Clarksville, Tenn.	12:00pm.
Austin Peay Invitational
Fri, Feb 25	Illinois State	Clarksville, Tenn.	3:00pm.
Sat, Feb 26	Milwaukee	Clarksville, Tenn.	2:30pm.
Sun, Feb 27	Milwaukee	Clarksville, Tenn.	2:30pm.
Tue, Mar 01	Mississippi	at Oxford, Miss.	6:30pm.
Wed, Mar 02	Mississippi	at Oxford, Miss.	6:30pm.
Governors Classic
Fri, Mar 04	Eastern Michigan	Clarksville, Tenn.	3:00pm.
Sat, Mar 05	Alabama A&M	Clarksville, Tenn.	2:30pm.
Tue, Mar 08	South Dakota State	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:00.m.
Wed, Mar 09	South Dakota State	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:00pm.
Fri, Mar 11	Arkansas State	at Jonesboro, Ark.	6:00pm.
Sat, Mar 12	Arkansas State	at Jonesboro, Ark.	4:00pm.
Sun, Mar 13	Arkansas State	at Jonesboro, Ark.	1:00pm.
Wed, Mar 16	Tennessee	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Fri, Mar 18	Illinois State	at Bloomington, Ill.	3:00pm.
Sat, Mar 19	Illinois State	at Bloomington, Ill.	2:00pm.
Sun, Mar 20	Illinois State	at Bloomington, Ill.	1:00pm.
Wed, Mar 23	Western Kentucky	at Bowling Green, Ky.	3:00pm.
Sat, Mar 26	Murray State (1) *	at Murray, Ky.	1:00pm.
Sat, Mar 26	Murray State (2) *	at Murray, Ky.	4:30pm.
Sun, Mar 27	Murray State *	at Murray, Ky.	1:00pm.
Wed, Mar 30	Middle Tennessee	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Sat, Apr 02	Eastern Illinois (1) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Sat, Apr 02	Eastern Illinois (2) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:30pm.
Sun, Apr 03	Eastern Illinois *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Tue, Apr 05	Evansville	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Wed, Apr 06	Middle Tennessee	at Murfreesboro, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Sat, Apr 09	Eastern Kentucky (1) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Sat, Apr 09	Eastern Kentucky (2) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:30pm.
Sun, Apr 10	Eastern Kentucky *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Tue, Apr 12	Western Kentucky	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Wed, Apr 13	Belmont	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Sat, Apr 16	Jacksonville State (1) *	at Jacksonville, Ala.	1:00pm.
Sat, Apr 16	Jacksonville State (2) *	at Jacksonville, Ala.	4:30pm.
Sun, Apr 17	Jacksonville State *	at Jacksonville, Ala.	1:00pm.
Tue, Apr 19	Lipscomb	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Fri, Apr 22	SIU Edwardsville (1) *	at Edwardsville, Ill.	1:00pm.
Fri, Apr 22	SIU Edwardsville (2) *	at Edwardsville, Ill.	4:30pm.
Sat, Apr 23	SIU Edwardsville *	at Edwardsville, Ill.	1:00pm.
Tue, Apr 26	Belmont	at Nashville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Wed, Apr 27	Memphis	Clarksville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Sat, Apr 30	Morehead State (1) *	at Morehead, Ky.	12:00pm.
Sat, Apr 30	Morehead State (2) *	at Morehead, Ky.	3:30pm.
Sun, May 01	Morehead State *	at Morehead, Ky.	1:00pm.
Sat, May 07	Tennessee Tech (1) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Sat, May 07	Tennessee Tech (2) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:30pm.
Sun, May 08	Tennessee Tech *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Wed, May 11	Evansville	at Evansville, Ind.	6:00pm.
Sat, May 14	Southeast Missouri (1) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Sat, May 14	Southeast Missouri (2) *	Clarksville, Tenn.	4:30pm.
Sun, May 15	Southeast Missouri *	Clarksville, Tenn.	1:00pm.
Wed, May 18	Lipscomb	at Nashville, Tenn.	6:00pm.
Fri, May 20	UT Martin (1) *	at Martin, Tenn.	4:00pm.
Fri, May 20	UT Martin (2) *	at Martin, Tenn.	7:30pm.
Sat, May 21	UT Martin *	at Martin, Tenn.	1:00pm.
2011 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship
Wed, May 25	Opening Rounds	at Jackson, Tenn.	TBA
Thu, May 26 –  Fri, May 27	Tournament Play	at Jackson, Tenn.	TBA
Sat, May 28 –  Sun, May 29	Championship	at Jackson, Tenn.	TBA
2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
Fri, Jun 03 –  Mon, Jun 06	Regionals	at TBA	TBA
Fri, Jun 10 –  Mon, Jun 13	Super Regionals	at TBA	TBA
Fri, Jun 17 –  Tue, Jun 28	Men’s College World Series	at Omaha, Neb.	TBA

* Conference Games