Austin Peay (11-13, 4-5 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (12-10, 4-5 OVC)
Friday-Sunday, March 31st-April 2nd
Cape Girardeau, Missouri | Capaha Field
Clarksville, TN – A season-long five game road trip will see Austin Peay’s baseball team face Southeast Missouri in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, Friday-Sunday, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The Govs and Redhawks enter the weekend tied for fifth place in the league standings with 4-5 records. Both teams lost their OVC set last weekend, APSU falling at home to Tennessee Tech while SEMO dropped a series at SIU Edwardsville.
Probable Starters
APSU: RHP Alex Robles | RHP Caleb Powell | TBA
MTSU: RHP Justin Murphy | RHP Clay Chandler | RHP Robert Beltran
Series Notes
The Govs and Redhawks have met 91 times previously, Southeast Missouri holding a 53-38 advantage in the series. In terms of OVC series played between the teams, the Redhawks have won 14 of the 25 previous series, including seven of the 12 at Capaha Field.
Southeast Missouri has won the last two series at Cape Girardeau and three of the last four played there.
First Hacks
Home Run Hearsay
After hitting a Hand Park record six home runs against Tennessee Tech, last Saturday, Austin Peay moved back atop the Division I leaderboard in home runs per game before easing back to third entering this weekend’s action. The Govs also were ranked No. 3 in both total home runs (43) and in slugging percentage (.527).
Freshman Tyler Hubbard became the 13th different Govs batter to hit a home run in 2017, breaking the program record for most players with a home run in a season. Hubbard also became the second Govs hitter to drive a pinch-hit home run this season (sophomore Brett Newberg the other). The Govs 43 home runs already ranks 16th on the team’s single-season record list, with more than half the season remaining.
Individually
Senior first baseman Dre Gleason is the only Division I player ranked among the nation’s Top 15 in batting average (14th, .427), on-base percentage (9th, .533), slugging percentage (9th, .793) and RBI per game (6th, 1.46). Gleason needs just two hits to become the 19th Govs hitter to reach the 200-hit plateau.
Redshirt freshman infielder Parker Phillips hit a home run in each of the three games against Tennessee Tech and brings a six-game hit streak into the weekend that includes five home runs.
Junior second baseman Garrett Giovannelli has reached base safely in eight consecutive games, with a base hit in seven of those contests (13-for-37, .351). Senior utility man Alex Robles brings a team-best seven-game hit streak into the midweek outing (14-for-29, .483, 8 RBI).
Senior right fielder Chase Hamilton saw a four-game hit streak snapped at Middle Tennessee, Wednesday, but still has five hits in his last five games. Redshirt junior left fielder Cayce Bredlau has a hit in five of his last seven games and a double in four of those contests (9-for-30, .300, 7 RBI). Junior shortstop Kyle Wilson has a hit in five of his last seven games (6-for-23, .261).
Junior center fielder Imani Willis has a hit in seven of his last nine games (8 H, 2 2B).
Sophomore catcher Alex Sala broke a three-game hitless stretch with a 1-for-5 outing against Tennessee Tech, last Saturday.
Freshman infielder Landon Kelly has started the last three games at third base (4-for-13, 4 RBI at the plate) and has eight starts at the hot corner this season.
Sophomore Brett Newberg has an extra-base hit in three of his last four pinch-hit appearances (3-for-3, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, HBP).
Toeing The Rubber
Staff Notes
APSU pitchers continue to record strikeouts, with 133 Ks in 145 March innings while racking up 207 Ks through 214 innings this season. Their 8.71 strikeouts per nine innings would break the program record and ranks 70th nationally.
Starters
Right-hander Alex Robles will look to rebound from his loss to Tennessee Tech that dropped him to 2-1 in OVC starts this season. He had wins in his first two OVC starts, including a shutout victory against Jacksonville State, March 11th. He enters the weekend ranked seventh among OVC pitchers with 10.60 strikeouts per nine innings.
Senior right-hander Caleb Powell enters the weekend seeking to snap his two-game losing streak. It is the first time in his career he has suffered back-to-back losses, after entering 2017 with four losses total (2 in 2016, 1 each in 2015 and 2014).
APSU has not named a starter for Sunday’s contest.
Next Up for APSU Baseball
On the other side of the Southeast Missouri series, the Govs will conclude the five-game road trip with a Tuesday contest at Southern Illinois. Austin Peay then returns to The Hand for a quick three-game OVC series against Belmont.
Follow APSU
For additional coverage of Austin Peay’s baseball team, follow the Govs on Twitter @AustinPeayBSB. Austin Peay’s athletics department also maintains several social media accounts @LetsGoPeay (Twitter), /LetsGoPeay (Facebook) and /LetsGoPeay (Instagram).
