Murfreesboro – Another night, another offensive outburst as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team posted a season-high 22 hits en route to a 19-13 non-conference victory against Middle Tennessee, Wednesday night at Reese Smith Field.
Austin Peay (16-10) won its third-straight road contest after winning just one of its first eight. The Govs also set a season-high in hits for the third consecutive game and have now posted 58 hits in those three games.
Middle Tennessee (18-11) grabbed an early 3-1 lead courtesy outfielder Justin Guidry’s three-run home run in the first inning. The Blue Raiders extended their lead to 4-1 on third baseman Tyler Burnett’s RBI double in the second.
The Govs broke the game open in the third and fourth innings, scoring five and seven runs respectively. Outfielder Cody Hudson had the third inning’s big shot, a two-run triple. Designated hitter Matt Kole’s three-run home run in the fourth started that inning’s scoring which culminated with a succession of three run-scoring singles, giving APSU a 13-5 advantage.
The Blue Raiders cut into the lead with a four-run fifth inning. Burnett plating two runs with an infield single and outfielder Zach Hudson adding a two-run home run later in the inning, cutting the deficit to 15-9. That was as close at MTSU would get as the teams traded single runs in the over the next two innings before trading three runs each in the ninth frame.
Kole posted his second consecutive five RBI outing, going 2-for-5 with a double and a home run. Outfielder Adam Browett had a 5-for-6 outing with four RBI, the fourth Govs player with five hits in a game this season. Shortstop Reed Harper had four hits including his season’s fourth home run, a leadoff blast in the sixth inning.
Guidry led the Blue Raiders offense with a 3-for-6, five RBI outing. First baseman Blake McDade added a 4-for-4, two double performance.
APSU’s Ricky Marshall (5-3) picked up the victory after allowing one unearned run on two hits in the third inning. He was one of seven Austin Peay pitchers to see action.
Middle Tennessee’s Nick Montgomery (5-2) took the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning. The Blue Raiders used eight pitchers in the midweek affair.
Austin Peay returns to Ohio Valley Conference action travels to Eastern Kentucky for a three-game series beginning with a noon (CDT), Saturday doubleheader.
