Southeast Missouri vs. Austin Peay Governors
Friday-Sunday, April 11th-13th
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Park
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay’s baseball team (13-20, 5-7 OVC) will meet the Ohio Valley Conference-leading Southeast Missouri (22-10, 13-2 OVC) in a three-game series, beginning Friday, at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The Govs and Redhawks are scheduled to begin their OVC set with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by a 2:00pm, Saturday affair and a 1:00pm, Sunday finale.Austin Peay enters the weekend with wins in three of its last four outings, including a 2-1 OVC series win at Tennessee Tech last weekend.
Southeast Missouri is the OVC’s hottest team with an eight-game win streak that is third longest in Division I. The Redhawks have posted a sweep in four of their five OVC series this season.
Austin Peay Governors
Austin Peay is in its busiest stretch of the 2014 campaign, playing 16 games in a 22-day stretch that will conclude with the Easter Holiday, April 20th; they are 3-6 during that stretch.
The Govs are 9-10 at Raymond C. Hand Park this season after being swept by Murray State in OVC play, March 29th-31st. APSU is 4-10 away from the friendly confines in 2014 and has won 3 of its last 4 road contests.
Two-way man Alex Robles (3B/P) ranks sixth among all OVC hitters and second among freshmen with a .352 average; he has a 3-2 record and 3.83 ERA on the mound. Utility man Ridge Smith has reached base safely in 26 consecutive games dating back to February 25th; he ranks 13th among OVC hitters with 27 RBI this season.
Outfielder Cayce Bredlau leads APSU with a .316 batting average and .490 on-base percentage during OVC play. Infielder Garrett Copeland batted .417 (10-for-24) during his 7-game hit streak that ended vs. Memphis, Wednesday.
Shortstop Logan Gray has 8 hits (.615) and 5 RBI in his last 3 games. First baseman Dre Gleason supplied the game-winning RBI in Wednesday’s win vs. Memphis and has 5 hits (.385) and 5 RBI in his last 4 games.
Austin Peay has 91 extra-base hits this season and 32.9 percent of its hits have gone for extras, the second-highest such percentage among OVC teams.
APSU has seen 7 freshmen start at least half of its games this season and 8 have taken an at-bat this year and they have combined to hit .261 (183-for-702) and drive in 114 of the team’s 170 RBI.
This season, Austin Peay was picked to finish 2nd in the OVC’s preseason poll behind Tennessee Tech. The Govs did not have a player selected to the preseason All-OVC squad; only senior catcher P.J. Torres returns after receiving All-OVC honors (2nd team) last season.
First Pitch
For the second consecutive week and sixth time this season, Austin Peay will field a different weekend rotation.
Right-hander Alex Robles has been a member of the weekend rotation each week of the campaign and is 3-2 with a 3.91 ERA in his 8 starts. He notched his second road win at Tennessee Tech, last Friday, holding TTU to 4 runs in a season-best 8 innings. Robles is 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA in 4 OVC starts.
Right-hander Jared Carkuff is scheduled to make his first start in 2014 after 14 relief appearances, including a stint as the Govs closer. It will be his first start of any kind since May 14th, 2013 at Memphis and his first career OVC start. He was 0-0 with a 6.55 ERA in 6 starts last season.
Austin Peay will enter the weekend with a Game 3 starter to be announced. It is the second straight weekend the Govs have waited to name a Game 3 starter.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Date/ Time |
Austin Peay Starter vs. Opponent’s Starter |
FRI. 6:00pm |
RHP Alex Robles (Fr., 3-2, 3.83 ERA) RHP Tyler Iago (Jr., 4-1, 4.26 ERA) |
SAT. 2:00pm |
RHP Jared Carkuff (So., 1-2, 4.09 ERA) RHP Ryan Lenaburg (Jr., 3-2, 3.99 ERA) |
SUN. 1:00pm |
TBA RHP Travis Hayes (Jr., 4-0, 2.15 ERA) |
Inclement Weather
Inclement weather is forecast in the Clarksville area during this weekend’s series. Austin Peay athletics will update this story in a schedule change is necessary. In addition, fans may see updates on the athletics official Twitter feed (@LetsGoPeay) and the baseball team’s official Twitter feed (@APSUBaseball).
Media Center
Radio: WVRY 105.1 FM
Play by Play: Van Stokes
Online Audio: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Live Statistics: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Twitter: @APSUBaseball