Austin Peay State University Baseball team hosts Jacksonville State Gamecocks this weekend

March 21, 2013 |

Austin Peay Governors vs. Jacksonville State

Fri.-Sun., March 22nd-24th, 2013 | 1:00pm/5:00pm/12:00pm
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Park (777)

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay returns home for a brief three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against staunch rival Jacksonville State, Friday-Sunday, at Raymond C. Hand Park.

Senior shortstop Reed Harper and Austin Peay host rival Jacksonville State in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend. (Courtesy: Brittney Sparn/APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay opened OVC play last weekend and won both games of a weather-shortened series at Eastern Illinois.

The Gamecocks visit Clarksville at the tail end of a four-game road trip they began with a 6-5 loss at Alabama, Wednesday.

Jacksonville State owns a 5-1 mark in OVC play after sweeping SIU Edwardsville at home last weekend.

Governors Quick Hits

Austin Peay’s 17-3 start is its best 20-game start in program history. The Govs saw a 9-game win streak snapped with Tuesday’s non-conference loss. Senior outfielder Cody Hudson had the Govs only two hits at Indiana State and was responsible for the team’s lone run as he stole two bases and induced a throwing error in the second that allowed him to scamper home.

Hudson leads APSU with a .397 batting average and 10 stolen bases. Junior second baseman Jordan Hankins is second on the team with a .342 batting average but leads the team in walks (17) and on-base percentage (.484).

Junior first baseman Craig Massoni leads the team with 3 home runs and 22 RBI this season and is batting .338. Austin Peay’s offense has accumulated 115 walks this season (5.8 walks per game) and owns a .408 on-base percentage.

On the mound, junior Lee Ridenhour, the Govs No. 1 starter, has won his last two starts and has started the season with three quality starts in four outings. Senior Casey Delgado posted a bounce-back win at Eastern Illinois, scattering a season-low three hits over 6.0 innings. Junior Zach Hall saw his regular start delayed 48 hours after Sunday’s game at EIU was canceled, and he suffered his season’s first loss at Indiana State, Tuesday, after allowing three runs over 4.0 innings.

Head coach Gary McClure has 769 career wins, 8 shy of becoming the OVC’s all-time wins leader. APSU has won four consecutive OVC series, dating back to last season – a streak that started after losing a series to Jacksonville State. The Govs have won seven consecutive three-game series, including that OVC streak.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Jacksonville State may bring an 11-12 record into this weekend’s series, but the Gamecocks have been steadily improved – particularly in weekend action. JSU is 8-1 in its last three weekends, including a sweep of SIU Edwardsville, last weekend. The Gamecocks offense pounded both UT Martin and SIUE to start the OVC campaign, posting a .306 batting average (59 points above its season average) and averaging 8.8 runs per game.

Jacksonville State’s weekend rotation also has done its part, posting a league-best 2.21 ERA in those six OVC contests. Junior outfielder Griff Gordon leads the JSU offense in batting average (.375), walks (14) and on-base percentage (.475). Junior Coty Blanchard has moved to the outfield and leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI (18), but is batting .281 on the season.

The Governors-Gamecocks Series

Jacksonville State leads the series against Austin Peay, 20-17, including an 18-9 edge in OVC regular-season contests… the visiting team has won the last two series – JSU claiming a series win in Clarksville last season after APSU won its first series at Jacksonville the previous year… Austin Peay has won 5 of the last 7 meetings in the series, including a 7-6, 11-inning affair in an elimination game of last season’s OVC Tournament.

Rogers Named OVC Pitcher of the Week

Closer Tyler Rogers earned his second consecutive adidas® OVC weekly honor, March 18th. He appeared in three of the Govs four games the previous week and posted a 1-0 record and two saves while tossing three scoreless innings. He picked up the win against Indiana State, March 12th, when he pitched a scoreless 11th inning in the Govs 6-5 victory.

Rogers followed that outing with a scoreless ninth inning at Lipscomb, March 13th, to earn the save. He finished the week with a scoreless ninth frame at Eastern Illinois, Saturday, giving him his season’s eighth save. It also was his 20th career save, tying the APSU career saves mark held by Daniel Tenholder.

Govs Off To Quick Start

Austin Peay has jumped out of the gates to a 17-3 mark entering the season’s sixth weekend. It is the best 20-game start in program history. The next best starts for the Govs are as follows: 21 games (17-4 in 1996); 22 games (18-4 in 1996); 23 games (19-4 in 1996).

Probable Pitchers

Broadcast Information

Radio: Governors Sports Network
Online: www.LetsGoPeay.com

Stats

Live Stats: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Twitter Updates: @APSUBaseball

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