Austin Peay (13-15, 5-7 OVC) vs. Belmont (13-14, 8-4 OVC)
Friday-Sunday, April 7th-9th, 2017
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Park
Clarksville, TN – After completing a five-game road trip with back-to-back wins, Austin Peay’s baseball team returns home for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Belmont, starting Friday.
The Govs and Bruins are scheduled to open the series with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by 1:00pm contests both Saturday and Sunday.
Austin Peay will look to begin its march toward the top of the OVC standings with just six OVC series remaining.
The Govs slipped to eighth after last week’s series loss at Southeast Missouri.
Meanwhile, Belmont has opened OVC play with an 8-4 record and sits third after the first four weekends.
Series Notes
Austin Peay and Belmont have played just four series since the latter joined the OVC in 2013. The Govs have won all four series, but have not swept any of the sets. However, the Govs and Bruins have been playing since 1954 with 104 meetings all time, APSU holding a 68-36 edge in those contests, including a 26-14 record in Clarksville.
Probable Starters
APSU: RHP Alex Robles | LHP Brett Newberg | TBA
BEL: RHP Tyler Vaughn | RHP Dylan King | RHP Connor Etheridge
First Hacks
Senior first baseman Dre Gleason is the only Division I player ranked among the nation’s Top 10 in batting average (7th, .427), on-base percentage (5th, .533), slugging percentage (10th, .760) and RBI per game (8th, 1.36). Redshirt junior left fielder Cayce Bredlau snapped a three-game hitless streak with three hits in the Southeast Missouri finale and has four hits in his last nine at-bats.
Junior Garrett Giovannelli moved into the designated hitter spot for the past two games after starting 24 games at second base. Senior right fielder Chase Hamilton has a hit in seven of his last nine games, posting seven RBI in that span.
Freshman third baseman Landon Kelly is batting .300 in seven OVC games this season. Sophomore catcher David Martinez has started behind the plate in each of the Govs last three games and has three hits and three walks in those contests. Sophomore Brett Newberg has an extra-base hit in three of his last four pinch-hit appearances (3-for-3, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, HBP).
Redshirt freshman infielder Parker Phillips has missed three games due to an upper body injury and his status is day-to-day entering weekend. Redshirt freshman Max Remy has started each of the past four games in the middle infield and has four hits and four RBI in that stretch.
Senior utility man Alex Robles is batting a team-best .400 (18-for-45) over the last 11 games, including five multi-hit outings. Junior center fielder Imani Willis brings a three-game hit streak into the weekend series. Junior shortstop Kyle Wilson has nine hits (two triples) in 10 OVC starts this season.
Home Run Hearsay
With just one home run in their last five games, the Govs have slipped to No. 7 in home runs per game (1.57) among Division I teams, No. 7 in both total home runs (44) and No. 9 in slugging percentage (.500).
Freshman Tyler Hubbard became the 13th different Govs batter to hit a home run in 2017, breaking the program record for most players with a home run in a season. Hubbard also became the second Govs hitter to drive a pinch-hit home run this season (Newberg the other). Austin Peay’s 44 home runs already ranks 16th on the team’s single-season record list as the season’s second half gets underway.
The Govs record pace was 1.25 home runs per game set in 1999 (70 HR/56 GP).
APSU hit a Raymond C. Hand Park record six home runs against Tennessee Tech, March 25th.
Toeing The Rubber
Staff Notes
APSU pitchers continue to record strikeouts, racking up 234 Ks through 248 innings this season. The team’s 8.49 strikeouts per nine innings would break the program record and ranks 79th nationally. After notching one save in the season’s first 26 games, the Govs bullpen has a save in back-to-back games entering the weekend.
Starters
Right-hander Alex Robles enters the weekend seeking to end his personal two-game losing streak after suffering losses to Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri. He enters the weekend ranked eighth among OVC pitchers with 10.15 strikeouts per nine innings.
Left-hander Brett Newberg will move into the No. 2 role against Belmont. He picked up a win in his first OVC start, last weekend, at Southeast Missouri. APSU has not named a starter for Sunday’s contest.
Next Up for APSU Baseball
The Govs start another five-game road trip with their Ohio Valley Conference series at Eastern Kentucky. Due to the Easter holiday, that series will be played Thursday-Saturday.
Follow APSU Baseball
For additional coverage of Austin Peay’s baseball team, follow the Govs on Twitter @AustinPeayBSB. Austin Peay’s athletics department also maintains several social media accounts @LetsGoPeay (Twitter), /LetsGoPeay (Facebook) and /LetsGoPeay (Instagram).
