Two teams sitting at .500 will meet when Austin Peay State University’s baseball team hosts Belmont in a 6 p.m., Tuesday non-conference contest at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (18-18) has fallen back to .500 with six losses in its last seven contests. The Govs stopped a five game losing streak courtesy a doubleheader split against Jacksonville State, Saturday, but dropped the series finale, Sunday. Austin Peay stood five games above .500 on April 7.
Junior right-hander Eric Davis (1-1) will look to recover from a shaky outing in his last appearance, April 13 against Western Kentucky. He brings a 7.64 ERA into Tuesday’s contest, which will be his season’s fifth start, and has struck out 19 batters in 33 innings, walking 16.
Offensively, senior designated hitter Matt Kole is the Govs hottest hitter entering the week. He finished last week’s four-game stretch with a .600 batting average, recording nine hits and five RBI. During the last two weeks, Kole has 18 hits (.545 batting average) and 19 RBI.
Belmont (19-19) is back at .500 after winning the final two games of its three-game Atlantic Sun series against Stetson, Saturday. The Bruins have lost six of their last nine and have fallen from six-games above .500 on April 2.
Sophomore southpaw Frank Adelman (0-1) will make his season’s eight start and bring a 5.23 ERA into Tuesday’s appearance. He has surrendered 19 walks in 31 innings but struck out just 13 batters while allowing opposing hitters to hit .319.
Nate Woods leads Belmont with 16 home runs, 59 RBI while posting a .340 batting average. The Bruins have hit 42 home runs in 38 games this season and have 140 extra-base hits (.484 slugging percentage). The Govs have just 24 home runs in 36 games and 111 extra-base hits (.434 slugging percentage).
