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HomeSportsAPSU Lady Govs Softball plays Murray State at home this weekend

APSU Lady Govs Softball plays Murray State at home this weekend

APSU Sports Information

APSU Softball - Austin Peay State UniversityClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s softball team will host Murray State for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, this weekend at Cheryl Holt Field, to close out its 2016 regular-season schedule.

The Governors (8-36, 4-20 OVC) and Racers will open play, with a noon, Saturday doubleheader and conclude the series on Sunday with a noon single game.

Austin Peay Softball plays Murray State at Cheryl Holt Field. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Softball plays Murray State at Cheryl Holt Field. (APSU Sports Information)

This weekend’s games will also be the final contests in the careers of five Austin Peay seniors: Mel Pavel (catcher), Niya Sparks (third base), Courtney Brower (outfield), Vinchenza DiBenedetto (first base) and Natalie Ayala (pitcher).

There will be a Senior Day Ceremony prior to Sunday’s game to recognize and celebrate their careers at Austin Peay.

The first game of this weekend’s series will be the 19th meeting overall between the two schools, dating back to their first meeting on April 10th, 2010, with Austin Peay trailing in the all-time series 14-4, including dropping the last 11 contests.

APSU's Danielle LiermannThe two teams met earlier this season, in a non-conference matchup, at the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic in Bowling Green, KY, with the Racers (21-28, 10-13 OVC) coming away with a 10-5 victory.

Offensively, Austin Peay is led by a pair of first-year players, with true freshman Danielle Liermann and redshirt freshman Kacy Acree putting up some of the best numbers in school history for newcomers.

Liermann enters the weekend with a team-leading .369 batting average from the third-base position, with 55 hits, nine doubles, a triple and a team leading six home runs along with 34 RBIs. Her RBI and hit totals are both APSU freshman single-season records, while also the seventh-most hits in a single season by any player and tying for sixth most RBIs.

APSU's Kacy AcreeAcree, APSU’s right fielder who missed last season after knee surgery, is hitting at a .348 clip, with 47 hits, including a team-leading 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs. She also leads the team in runs scored with 29. Acree’s run total is the third most for a freshman in school history, while her doubles total is fourth most and home runs tie for fourth most. Her 11 doubles tie for the seventh-most by any APSU player in a single season.

In the circle, junior Autumn Hanners leads the Govs’ pitching staff with a 3-15 win-loss mark, with a 4.69 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 94 innings of work this season. Ayala and junior Allie Blackwood have two wins each this season, while junior Christiana Gable has the other APSU win.

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