APSU Governors Baseball drops series finale to Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 12-4

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Men’s Baseball

Clarksville, TN – Junior first baseman Craig Massoni had three hits and three RBI but it was not enough as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team suffered a 12-4 Ohio Valley Conference loss to Tennessee Tech, Sunday afternoon, at Raymond C. Hand Park.

Tennessee Tech (23-9, 12-3 OVC) again used the home run to jump out front. Designated hitter Brandon Thomasson and third baseman Daniel Miles put up back-to-back blasts to start the second and led 2-0.

Austin Peay (25-7, 8-3 OVC) tied the game in its half of the second. Massoni’s first hit was a towering leadoff home run to left. Left fielder Cody Hudson followed with a double down the right field line – his 200th career hit – and scored on designated hitter Michael Davis’ groundout.

But the Govs surrendered four runs – including three on an error – in what proved to be the decisive third inning. The Golden Eagles loaded the bases without an out against APSU starter Ryan Quick. He struck out Thomasson for the first out and then got a ground ball served to third baseman Kevin Corey. However, his throw to second was wide and ended up in the left field corner as TTU cleared the bases to take a 5-2 lead. Thomasson would later score on right fielder Michael Morris’ single and Tennessee Tech would not look back.

Austin Peay’s offense could only muster single runs in both the third and fifth innings against a Tennessee Tech barrage that included a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth and a final run in the seventh.

Massoni followed his solo home run with a sacrifice fly in the third and a RBI double in the fifth to finish 3-for-4 with three RBI. The Govs offense recorded 10 hits but also suffered 10 strikeouts.

Quick (3-2) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on six hits over 2.1 innings.

Tennessee Tech’s offense rapped out 15 hits with six batters recording multi-hit outings. Center fielder Austin Wulf and left fielder James Abraham each had three hits. Miles finished with a team-best three RBI.

TTU starter Jacob Honea held the Govs to four runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. Reliever Nick Price (5-1) received credit for the win after striking out five batters and allowing five hits over 3.1 scoreless innings.

Austin Peay begins a six-game road trip with a 5:30pm (CT), Tuesday contest at nationally-ranked Kentucky.

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Box Score

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
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Tennessee Tech...... 024 140 100 - 12 15  1
Austin Peay......... 021 010 000 -  4 10  1
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