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APSU Governors Baseball picked 4th in OVC, Alex Robles and Ridge Smith selected for preseason squadAustin Peay Sports Information
Austin Peay, which begins its 75th baseball campaign in one week, received 149 total points and was picked behind preseason favorite and defending regular-season champion Southeast Missouri which received 12 first-place votes and 187 total points. Defending OVC tournament champion Jacksonville State was picked second with seven first-place votes and 171 points while Tennessee Tech received the remaining three first-place votes and 160 points.Behind the Govs and finishing out the six-team tournament field were Morehead State (134 points) and SIU Edwardsville (92 points), selected in fifth and sixth place, respectively. However, SIUE barely edged out Eastern Illinois (7th, 91 points) and Belmont (8th, 87 points) for the final spot. Farther back in the preseason poll were Eastern Kentucky (9th, 59), Murray State (10th, 56) and UT Martin (11th, 24).
The Govs fourth-place preseason nod is a significant nod toward a squad that missed qualifying for the six-team OVC Baseball Championship on the season’s final day. However, the 2014 Govs were a freshman-laden team with eight rookies playing significant time during the campaign.
Sophomore utility man Ridge Smith and two-way man Alex Robles led that group of freshman last season. Smith, who played left field and caught last season, returns after earning first-team All-OVC honors last season – the first Austin Peay freshman since A.J. Ellis in 2000 to receive first-team honors. Robles, the Govs starting third baseman and No. 1 starting pitcher last year, returns after notching becoming the first Governor to receive OVC Rookie of the Year honors since Rowdy Hardy in 2004. That entire group of starting freshmen will return for the 2015 campaign and that year of experience under their belt should prove beneficial as the Govs seek to return to the OVC Baseball Championship. The Govs return six starting position players from last season’s squad with sophomore infielder Garrett Copeland also returning after being the only Govs player to start all 56 games last season.
However, it is a rejuvenated Austin Peay pitching staff that holds the most promise for the upcoming campaign. The Govs 35-man roster is dominated by a 20-man pitching staff that features eight left handers. Thirteen pitchers return from the 2014 squad, including five pitchers that recorded three or more starts.
Hall will be joined in the starting rotation by junior Jared Carkuff, who flourished after moving to the Govs starting rotation in 2014 – closing the season with allowing just one run in his final 15 innings pitched. Robles also is battling for a weekend spot along with sophomore Caleb Powell, who started 10 games last season, including the regular-season finale.
Austin Peay begins the 2015 campaign when it hosts Niagara in a 3:00pm, Friday, February 13th, contest as part of the Governors Challenge. The Govs will also face Northern Illinois and South Dakota State in the three-day event at Raymond C. Hand Park. SectionsSportsTopicsA.J. Gaura, Alex Robels, APSU, APSU Athletics, APSU Baseball, APSU Men's Baseball, APSU Sports, Austin Peay State University, Belmont, Brentwood TN, Caleb Powell, Cayce Bredlau, Clayton Smithson, Dre Gleason, Eastern Kentucky, Garrett Copeland, Gary McClure, Governors, Governors Challenge, Govs, Imani Willis, Jacksonville State, Jared Carkuff, Kacy Kemmer, Kyle Blackburn, Logan Gray, Morehead State, Murray State, Niagara, Northern Illinois, Ohio Valley Conference, OVC, OVC Tournament, Patrick Massoni, Raymond C. Hand Park, Ridge Smith, SIU Edwardsville, South Dakota State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, Zach Hall |
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