Austin Peay vs. Eastern Kentucky
April 15th, 2018 | 1:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Field
Clarksville, TN – The final game of the Austin Peay State University’s baseball team three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Eastern Kentucky will be scheduled to start at 1:00pm, Sunday as rain saturated the Clarksville area Saturday morning with more rain in the forecast.
The Stephen Huff Lung Cancer Awareness day scheduled for Saturday will now be held Saturday, April 28th as part of the series with UT Martin.
Phillips Powers Govs
What else can be said about the performance first baseman Parker Phillips put forth in Friday’s doubleheader? No less than Baseball America and D1Baseball.com espoused surprise at the stat line he put up: 6-for-8, 5 home runs, 10 runs batted in. Parker nearly batted for the rare home run cycle in the first game alone, opening with a grand slam in the first-inning to give APSU the lead before tacking on a solo home run and a two-run home run.
Anything You Can Do
Not more than a weekend ago, designated hitter Brett Newberg hit a home run in three consecutive at-bats, a feat not accomplished since 2015 by a young power-hitting Logan Gray. But Newberg’s name wouldn’t stand by that accomplishment more than a week, as Phillips turned the trick in Game 1 against Eastern Kentucky, He nearly matched Gray’s feat of three home runs in three consecutive innings, but his final home run came in the first, second and fourth frames.
Costanzo Continues March to 200
Meanwhile, senior left-handed pitcher Michael Costanzo continued his march toward 200 career strikeouts, muscling his way to five strikeouts in 5.1 innings in the EKU series opener. He now has 190 career strikeouts, moving into 10th on the Govs career strikeouts list. He moved past Dustin Smith (189, 1999-2003) who coincidentally was in attendance during the Governors batting practice prior to Friday’s game.
Govs Home Run Binge
Austin Peay hit eight home runs in the doubleheader – second baseman Garrett Giovannelli, center fielder Imani Willis and catcher David Martinez each chipping in a blast of their own. It is the most home runs in back-to-back games for the Govs this season and most in consecutive games since May 13-14, 2016 at SIUE.
Another Series Victory
Impressively, the doubleheader sweep assured the Govs of their eighth weekend series victory this season, in just nine weeks of action. Austin Peay stands 19-7 in weekend action in 2018.
Doubleheader, No Problem
The Governors played their fourth doubleheader of 2018 and posted their third sweep. Austin Peay has swept doubleheaders from Toledo, Southeast Missouri and now Eastern Kentucky this season.
