APSU Governors Baseball take on Morehead State Eagles in final Home Series of the Season

Morehead State vs. Austin Peay Baseball

May 11th-13th, 2012 | First Pitch: Fri. 6:00pm | Sat. 2:00pm | Sun. 1:00pm
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Park (777)

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s baseball team will look to maintain its slim half-game lead on the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference when it hosts Morehead State in its final home weekend, Friday-Sunday, at Raymond C. Hand Park.

The three-game series begins with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by a 2:00pm, Saturday outing. The Govs will honor its 11 seniors prior to a 1:00pm, Sunday contest that will conclude the team’s home schedule.

Austin Peay remains one-half game ahead of both Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky after winning 2 of 3 at SIU Edwardsville last weekend. In OVC play, center fielder Michael Blanchard has led the Govs with a .390 batting average that ranks 8th among OVC hitters.

Shortstop Reed Harper has slowly caught up with his teammate and is batting .384 in league play, ranking 11th among OVC hitters. Harper also leads the Govs with a .332 batting average and 14 doubles on the season as a whole. Left fielder Cody Hudson is close behind with a .331 batting average.

Second baseman Jordan Hankins holds the team lead with 48 RBI while posting a .317 batting average. Third baseman Greg Bachman has 11 home runs – one of seven OVC hitters with double-digit home runs – and 46 RBI while batting .295 this season.

On the mound, Austin Peay will continue with its current rotation for the third consecutive week. Senior Zach Toney, who has a 3-0 record and a 2.03 ERA that ranks 2nd among regular starters in OVC games this season, will get the nod for Game 1. Sophomore Ryan Quick posted his season’s 8th quality start – his 1st in OVC play – in Game 2 at SIU Edwardsville last weekend and sports a 4-2 record and 6.22 ERA in league action. Junior Casey Delgado, who has a 2-2 record and 5.59 ERA in OVC action, will hold down the No. 3 spot.

About Morehead State

The Eagles return to action after dropping a three-game series, 2-1, at Tennessee Tech last weekend. Morehead State has lost six of its last seven, all in OVC play, and have fallen from a third-place tie into a tie for fifth place in that span.

Senior third baseman Andrew Deeds leads Morehead State’s offense in batting average (.422, 2nd in OVC), home runs (7), RBI (37) and stolen bases (12) this season. Those numbers include a team-best .370 batting average with 4 home runs and 18 RBI in league play. The Eagles have four other players batting above .300 through 46 games, including junior shortstop Chase Greenwell who has posted a .344 batting average and a team-best 12 doubles.

Aaron Goe has been a steady freshman performer for the Eagles in the No. 1 spot, compiling a 3-2 record and 4.36 ERA in OVC action. Sophomore Noah Smallwood has been MSU’s Game 2 starter in OVC play, posting a 2-2 record and 4.00 ERA in league action. Junior Garrick Whittle has been the Eagle’s Game 3 starter the past two weekends and is 0-2 with a 6.32 ERA in those two starts.

Eleven Seniors Take Final Home Bow This Weekend

Eleven members of Austin Peay’s roster will make their final appearances at Raymond C. Hand Park: designated hitter Jon Clinard, center fielder Michael Blanchard, third baseman Greg Bachman, pitcher Chuck Edlin, pitcher Mike Hebert, pitcher Mark Allen Bounds III, pitcher Lucas Anderson, first baseman Tyler Childress, pitcher Zane Leffew, pitcher Zach Toney and pitcher Andy Cox. They will each be recognized prior to the start of Sunday’s home finale.

Hankins Hard To Retire

Sophomore second baseman Jordan Hankins has had a discerning eye at the plate this season. Entering the Morehead State series, he has recorded only 12 strikeouts in 186 at-bats (15.5 K/AB). Entering the week, his ratio of a strikeout every 16.2 at-bats was ranked 30th among Division I hitters.

Hankins struck out in his final at-bat at Evansville, Wednesday, his first since April 18th at Middle Tennessee ending a streak of 51 at-bats without a strikeout. Hankins further increases the difficulty for opposing pitchers with a .317 batting average while leading the team in times hit by a pitch (10) and ranking second in walks (31) – giving him a team-best .439 on-base percentage that ranks ninth among OVC players.

Bats Pound SIUE, But Govs Settle For Series Split

Austin Peay’s offense posted 34 hits and accumulated 21 walks against SIU Edwardsville, May 4th-6th, but could not complete the sweep, winning the first two games by four runs each before SIUE won the finale in walk-off fashion. The Govs posted a .318 batting average and an impressive .439 on-base percentage against the Cougars while averaging 7.7 runs per game.

Governors Turn Program’s First Recorded Triple Play

Austin Peay turned the program’s first recorded triple play in the fourth inning of Game 2 at SIU Edwardsville, May 5th. With runners on first and second, SIUE right fielder Devin Caldwell hit a ground ball down the third-base line. APSU third baseman Greg Bachman moved to his right, picked up the bouncing ball and stepped on third base. He then turned and threw to second baseman Jordan Hankins for the second out. Hankins continued the action with a throw to first baseman Tyler Childress for the third out.

A Ring On One Hand, A Diploma In The Other

Five members of the 2012 Govs baseball team were members, in absentia, of Austin Peay’s Spring Commencement, May 4th: Greg Bachman, Mark Allen Bounds III, Jon Clinard, Mike Hebert, and Zach Toney. Additionally, Haskell Fink, a member of the 2011 squad, received in his diploma. The sextet continue Austin Peay’s tradition of “a ring on one hand, a diploma in the other” as each was a member of Austin Peay’s 2011 OVC Championship squad.

Probable Starting Pitching

Date	Time (CT)	Austin Peay Starter	Opponent’s Starter	APSU Radio/Internet
Fri.	6:00pm	LHP Zach Toney	RHP Aaron Goe	WVRY 105.1 FM
		(Sr., 4-2, 3.41 ERA)	(Fr., 5-4, 4.38 ERA)	LetsGoPeay.com
Sat.	2:00pm	RHP Ryan Quick	LHP Noah Smallwood	WVRY 105.1 FM
		(RSo., 5-2, 4.59 ERA)	(So., 3-2, 4.64 ERA)	LetsGoPeay.com
Sun.	1:00pm	RHP Casey Delgado	LHP Garrick Whittle	WVRY 105.1 FM
		(Jr., 5-4, 6.63 ERA)	(Jr., 1-4, 7.01 ERA)	LetsGoPeay.com

STATISTICAL COMPARISON: GOVS VS. EAGLES
TEAM	BA	RPG	HR	RBI	SLG	OBP	SB-A	ERA	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	BAA	FLD
APSU	.289	6.6	51	285	.442	.389	61-89	5.00	9.58	4.71	7.09	.276	.963
MOR	.305	6.6	40	273	.445	.389	48-72	5.79	11.32	4.23	5.84	.309	.957