47.8 F
Clarksville
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeSportsGovs travel to SIU Edwardsville for non-conference series

Govs travel to SIU Edwardsville for non-conference series

APSU Men’s Baseball

Austin Peay State University GovernorsEdwardsville, IL – Austin Peay’s baseball team will spend its off week from Ohio Valley Conference play with a three-game non-conference series at SIU Edwardsville – a future OVC opponent. Due to the upcoming Easter holiday, the series will begin with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by a 1:00pm, Sunday doubleheader.

APSU Men's Baseball
APSU Men's Baseball

Austin Peay (18-18, 7-4 OVC) reached the halfway point of its OVC race following its most successful trip to Jacksonville, AL in program history. The Govs won their first-ever three-game series at OVC-leading Jacksonville State to wrap the first half of the league schedule without losing a league series. The Govs sit atop the OVC standings with Southeast Missouri for the first time since winning the league’s regular-season title in 2007.

The Govs offense has enjoyed April, batting an impressive .348 during the month and averaging 8.4 runs per game. Sophomore shortstop Reed Harper has led the effort with a month-long hitting streak that has reached 14 games entering this weekend’s series. He leads the team with a .429 batting average in the month with seven doubles and 10 RBI.

Michael BlanchardJunior center fielder Michael Blanchard and junior third baseman Greg Bachman also have enjoyed the month, each bringing a nine-game hit streak into this weekend’s series. Blanchard leads the team with a .350 batting average for the season and is hitting .389 with 10 stolen bases in April. Bachman is right behind Harper with a .426 batting average during the month, bringing his season average up to .306 – sixth best on the team.

The Govs weekend rotation will remain the same for the fifth consecutive week with junior left-hander Jeremy Dobbs getting the nod Friday, followed by senior southpaw Jack Snodgrass and junior lefty Zach Toney. The Govs weekend pitching staff has combined for a 6-3 mark and 4.38 ERA in the team’s three weekend series in April.

Jeremy DobbsDobbs (7-1) entered the week ranked eighth nationally in victories, one win behind a group of seven players tied for the nation’s lead. He notched his OVC-leading third victory in the Govs Game 1 win at Jacksonville State, last Saturday. Snodgrass (1-5) continues to battle hard luck on the mound, watching a potential Game 2 win at Jacksonville State derailed by three defensive errors and turn into a loss. Toney (3-2) had another strong outing at Jacksonville State, allowing two runs over 6.1 innings, but did not factor into the decision as the Govs won the game in the ninth.

SIU Edwardsville (17-19) has been red hot as of late, bringing a six-game win streak into this weekend’s series. The Cougars swept a three-game set at Murray State last weekend and stand 7-2 against OVC opposition this season. SIUE won a pair of midweek contests leading up to this weekend, downing Indiana State and Bradley.

Reed HarperFreshman outfielder Devin Caldwell leads SIU Edwardsville in all three triple crown categories: batting average (.353), home runs (5) and RBI (42). Junior third baseman Zach Hawkins is not far behind, ranking second in average (.350) and RBI (33) and third in home runs (2).

The Cougars weekend rotation consists of a trio of right handers: senior Josh Malin, freshman Ryan Daniels and senior Spencer Patton. Malin (3-2) did not allow a walk in 6.2 innings to pick up the Game 1 victory at Murray State. Daniels (0-0) surrendered three runs in 4.1 innings and did not factor into SIUE’s 15-4 blowout victory in the series finale. Patton (5-2) has a team-leading 1.98 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 54.2 innings and notched the Game 2 victory at Murray State after striking out six over seven innings.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles