APSU Sports Information
Carbondale, IL – Starting pitcher Josh Rye tossed seven shutout innings to lead Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to its second straight road win in a 4-0 nonconference win against Southern Illinois, Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium.
For a second straight game, Austin Peay (13-15) jumped on the board first.
After Robles reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second, he scored on first baseman Dre Gleason‘s single that found the turf in front of the SIU left fielder for a 2-0 lead.
That would be all the run support Rye would need as he retired the first nine batters he faced. His streak would be halted by a leadoff single in the fourth and he would later allow a one-out walk. That would eventually turn into runners on the corners with two outs, but he induced a lazy fly ball to end the inning.
After the walk, Rye would sit down the next eight batters he faced, pushing into the seventh inning. He would surrender another walk to start the seventh, but induced a double play ground ball to wipe that runner off the bases. Rye’s outing would end when right fielder Chase Hamilton made a sliding catch of a foul ball for the third out.
Right-handed reliever Caleb Powell would start the eighth inning and faced two batters before turning things over to left-hander Jacques Pucheu. He would end the Salukis’ eighth-inning threat by retiring the first three batters he faced. Pucheu then struck out the first two batters in the ninth before getting a ground out to end the game.
Rye (4-1) would surrender just one hit and two walks during his career-best seven inning outing, striking out four. Pucheu notched his first collegiate save with three strikeouts against the six batters he faced.
Hamilton, catcher David Martinez and second baseman Max Remy each had two hits and a double to pace the Govs offense, which posted nine hits in the win.
Southern Illinois starter Henry Boeckmann (0-1) was tagged for his season’s first loss after allowing two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. Second baseman Connor Kopach had the Salukis lone hit.
Who Governed
Rye only allowed three of the 23 batters he faced to reach safely during his career-best seven inning outing. He opened the game by retiring the first nine batters he faced before allowing a leadoff single in the fourth. Rye would later surrender a one-out walk before settling in to retire the next eight batters he faced.
He would permit another walk in the seventh but induced a double play to erase the runner and help conclude his outing.
Silver Linings
One Hit, One Hit Only
Rye and relievers Caleb Powell and Jacques Pucheu combined to hold Southern Illinois to one hit in the shutout. It was the Govs first one hitter since February 26th, 2016 when they limited Alcorn to a single base hit.
A Second Shutout
Tuesday’s shutout was the second this season by the Govs pitching staff, joining a 4-0 shutout of Jacksonville State, March 11th. It is the first time since the 2012 season (7 shutouts) that Austin Peay has posted multiple shutouts in a season.
Bottom of the Order Doubles Up
Right fielder Chase Hamilton, catcher David Martinez and second baseman Max Remy – the 7-8-9 part of the Govs order – each had two hits in Tuesday’s victory. In addition, each of the three hit a double in the contest.
Up Next for APSU Baseball
Austin Peay returns home for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against third-place Belmont. That three-game set begins with a 6:00pm, Friday contest that will be highlighted by the Govs’ Faculty Appreciation Night.
