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HomeSportsAPSU Baseball heads to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

APSU Baseball heads to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

APSU Sports Information

APSU BaseballClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team closes its four-game in-state road trip when it meets Middle Tennessee in a 6:00pm, Tuesday contest at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro Tennessee.

Austin Peay Baseball plays Middle Tennessee on the road, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Baseball plays Middle Tennessee on the road, Tuesday. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors opened their current road trip with a 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference series victory at UT Martin, concluding the set with a stunning 22-11 victory, Sunday.

Designated hitter Matt Joslin was named the OVC Player of the Week after leading the Govs with nine RBI in the series and 13 RBI in 12 plate appearances in last week’s four games.

Middle Tennessee begins a four-game homestand with Tuesday’s contest. The Blue Raiders will look to shake off the disappointment of a winless four-game road trip that saw them drop a contest at Lipscomb before losing a three-game Conference USA series at Rice.

First Hacks

2018-19 APSU Baseball - Parker PhillipsFifteen different Governors have started a game in the season’s first 38 games. Only two players have started every game in 2019: center fielder Garrett Spain and utility man Parker Phillips.

Freshman designated hitter Matt Joslin continues to be the right man in the right spot in 2019. He is batting .727 with 18 RBI in 12 bases-loaded opportunities this season, including a walk-off grand slam against Southern Illinois, last Tuesday.

Senior catcher David Martinez’ .373 batting average is 11th among NCAA catchers (76th overall) and third among all OVC hitters.

2018-19 APSU Baseball - Garrett SpainCenter fielder Garrett Spain has reached base in all 38 games. He is second among OVC freshmen in batting average (.344), home runs (5) and RBI (38). Spain also is ranked among Division I freshmen in batting average (17th), RBI (7th) and runs scored (9th).

Junior right fielder Parker Phillips finished the UT Martin series with three home runs and eight RBI while batting .545. He went 3-for-4 with six RBI in the series finale, hitting a grand slam and two-run home run. Phillips is APSU’s career leader in home runs (45) and times hit by pitch (51).

Senior left fielder Aaron Campbell has reached base safely in his last 10 plate appearances. He went 4-for-4 and walked three times in his seven plate appearances, Sunday at UT Martin, scoring five times.

Junior first baseman Andrew Flaherty also enjoyed a career-best day in Sunday’s series finale at UT Martin. He went 3-for-6 with 6 RBI, including a three-run home run.

Freshman third baseman Gino Avros closed his stay at UT Martin with a 2-for-5 outing that included a double, saw him walk twice and score twice. He is batting .306 over his last eight games with four multi-hit outings.

After missing a start for the first time since Feb. 24, redshirt senior shortstop Garrett Kueber bounced back with his second three-hit game this season, Sunday, going 3-for-6 in the finale with a double and scoring twice.

Junior outfielder Malcolm Tipler started all three games at second base against UT Martin and has started five of the last six games there. He had a pair of run-producing hits in Sunday’s series finale at UT Martin.

Toeing The Rubber

Left-hander Nolan Monaghan is scheduled to make the midweek start for the third time this season.

The Wasilla, Alaska native is 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA in his previous three starts, striking out 14 batters in 9.0 innings pitched.

APSU Govs vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

In the season’s first meeting, Austin Peay scored three runs in the first, second and sixth innings to post a 10-3 victory, March 26th. Right fielder Parker Phillips’ two-run double in the third provided the game-winning runs.

The season’s earlier win snapped the Blue Raiders three-game win streak and was the Govs first win in the series since February 28th, 2017.

Middle Tennessee owns a 134-72 advantage in the all-time series, but the teams have split the 18 meetings since 2010, 9-9.

 

Midweek Musings

Austin Peay is 6-3 in midweek games this season, but is 2-2 on the road.

Among regular starters, catcher David Martinez leads the Govs with a .367 batting average in midweek games. Right fielder Parker Phillips leads the Govs with two home runs and 14 RBI in the nine midweek affairs. Meanwhile, center fielder Garrett Spain owns a team-leading .512 on-base percentage.

Pitching Matchups

Date Austin Peay Starter Opposing Starter
Tue., 4/23 LHP Nolan Monaghan (1-1, 5.40 ERA) RHP Josh Young (1-4, 2.43)

 

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