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HomeSportsAPSU Baseball hosts Middle Tennessee, Tuesday

APSU Baseball hosts Middle Tennessee, Tuesday

Austin Peay vs. Middle Tennessee

Tuesday, March 13th, 2018 | 6:00pm
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand  Park

APSU BaseballClarksville, TN – Fresh off its Spring Break roadtrip, Austin Peay State University’s baseball team opens a four-game homestand when it hosts Middle Tennessee in a 6:00pm, Tuesday contest at Raymond C. Hand Park.

Austin Peay Baseball plays Middle Tenneesee at Raymond C. Hand Park, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Baseball plays Middle Tenneesee at Raymond C. Hand Park, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (10-6) returns home after posting a 2-3 record on its Spring Break road trip, including an Ohio Valley Conference-opening series victory at Jacksonville State over the weekend.

The Govs return to The Hand where they are 5-2 this season still seeking their first midweek victory.

Middle Tennessee (8-8) makes the trip up Interstate 24 after losing a weekend series to West Virginia, winning the Friday opener before dropping the final two games. The Blue Raiders are 1-3 in midweek outings this season, picking up a win against Memphis, last Wednesday, for their first midweek victory.

Ticket Information

Single-game, flex, season and boxLife Suite tickets for Austin Peay baseball are available by calling the Governors Athletics Ticket office at 931.221.PEAY [7329] or online at LetsGoPeay.com/SportTix

The Suite Life

Fans interested in more information or renting an Austin Peay-themed boxLIFE suite for the season, a weekend or a game should complete the online form available at LetsGoPeay.com or contact Mike Minyard, Associate Athletics Director at minyardm@apsu.edu. Suites may be rented each weekend series ($1,000 per weekend) or on a single-game basis.

First Hacks

Second baseman Garrett Giovannelli is ranked among the Top 20 in Division I in walks per game (1.13, 15th) and has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games dating back to last season. Shortstop Garrett Kueber owns a team-leading .356 batting average and 14 RBI after four weekends, he also is second among Govs players in runs scored (14); he has reached base in his first 16 games as a Governor.

Third baseman Malcolm Tipler started four of the Govs last five games at the hot corner, including all three games of the Jacksonville State series where he reached base and scored three times. After posting just two hits in the opening week, first baseman Parker Phillips saw his 11-game reached base safely streak end in the Jacksonville State series finale but he had both the game-tying and game-winning RBI in the Govs OVC-opening win, Friday.

Left fielder Andrew Flaherty has started each of the last 11 games and is batting .381 (13-31) with 10 RBI in those 11 games; he also has reached base safely in all 15 games he has had an at-bat this season, leading the Govs with a .485 on-base percentage. Center fielder Imani Willis has batted .419 (13-31) with 10 RBI (both team bests) in his 11 games since returning to the starting lineup, including reaching base in 8 of 10 opportunities during the Jacksonville State series.

Right fielder Nick Walker had three doubles as part of his 6-for-13 (.462) performance against Jacksonville State, including a team-leading four RBI that moved into a tie for the team lead in season RBI (14). Catcher David Martinez‘ went 2-for-4 with two RBI, including the game-securing RBI in the Govs’ Saturday win at Jacksonville State; it was his first base hit since February 23rd vs. Toledo.

Kyle Wilson made two starts at designated hitter during the Jacksonville State series with a base hit and a walk to his credit. Outfielder Aaron Campbell made his third start this season at Ole Miss, last Tuesday, after going 2-for-7 with three RBI in two games against the Sycamores. John McDonald broke up a six-game hitless streak with a 1-for-3 effort in the Indiana State series finale, March 4th, and finished the series with three RBI.

The 2018 Governors offense is a collectively young group with only 15 years of Division I experience between the 20 available position players entering the season. Austin Peay has seen 14 different players make a start in the batting order so far this season and head coach Travis Janssen has utilized a different batting order in every game this season. 

The Govs have hit 50 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons and in five of the last six campaigns, including last season’s record 84-homer campaign.

Toeing The Rubber

Right-hander Tyler Thompson will get the start against the Blue Raiders, Tuesday, his third start of the 2018 campaign. He struck out six batters and walked none in 3.1 innings as the starter at Samford, last Wednesday, but surrendered four runs on eight hits as the Govs’ offense supplied just one run of support.   He has 16 strikeouts in 11.2 innings (12.34 K/9). Governors pitchers have 135 strikeouts in 141 innings (8.62 K/9, 109th in Division I) this season.

Austin Peay pitchers amassed a record-tying 466 strikeouts (8.07 K/9) last season. It was only the fifth time in program history a Govs pitching staff has recorded 400 strikeouts in a season, all occurring since 2011.

On Deck

Austin Peay hosts Murray State in a three-game OVC series that will kickoff the spring portion of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border between the two athletic departments. The three-game set is scheduled to begin with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by a 2:00pm, Saturday affair before wrapping up with a 1:00pm, Sunday finale. The Racers have won seven of the last 12 meetings in the series, all since 2014.

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