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APSU Baseball heads to Knoxville to take on Tennessee Vols

APSU BaseballClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team begins a four-game road trip that opens with a 5:00pm (CT), Tuesday, May 7th contest against Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville Tennessee. This is the Govs final regular season road trip of 2019.

Austin Peay Baseball is on the road Tuesday to play the Tennessee Vols at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Baseball is on the road Tuesday to play the Tennessee Vols at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors closed out a six-game homestand by winning a three-game series against Jacksonville, 2-1. That followed a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series victory against SIU Edwardsville, 2-1, the previous weekend. Austin Peay improved to 10-11 against nonconference foes this season with the Jacksonville series victory.

Tennessee concludes a four-game homestand with Tuesday’s contest. The Volunteers lost a Southeastern Conference series against Missouri last weekend. However, Tennessee is 22-2 against nonconference opponents in 2019, including wins against OVC members Belmont and Morehead State.

First Hacks

2018-19 APSU Baseball - Garrett SpainEastern Kentucky, April 5th-6th, Austin Peay has posted an 11-4 record with the offense batting an impressive .318 and averaging 8.1 runs per game.

Fifteen different Governors have started a game in the season’s first 45 games. Only two players have started every game in 2019: center fielder Garrett Spain and utility man Parker Phillips.

Senior catcher David Martinez’ .364 batting average is 13th among NCAA catchers (51st overall) and fourth among all OVC hitters. He is batting a team-best .367 in nonconference play this season.

Center fielder Garrett Spain reached base in the first 43 games of his collegiate career – the third longest streak in APSU history. His 42 RBI this season ranks sixth among OVC hitters.

2018-19 APSU Baseball - Parker PhillipsJunior right fielder Parker Phillips has eight home runs and 20 RBI in his last nine games. He is ranked fifth nationally with 19 home runs and 38th among Division I hitters with 52 RBI.

Phillips’ 19 home runs in 2019 ties his own single-season record set last season. His 50 career home runs make him the sixth hitter in OVC history to reach that milestone.

Freshman designated hitter Matt Joslin continues to be the right man in the right spot in 2019. He is batting .727 with 18 RBI in 12 bases-loaded opportunities this season, including a walk-off grand slam against Southern Illinois, April 16th.

Since April 12, senior outfielder Aaron Campbell has led the Govs with a .380 batting average (19-50) over those 14 games with six doubles and his first home run as a Governor.

Junior first baseman Andrew Flaherty batted .355 with two home runs and nine RBI in nine April starts. He had three-hit outings against Evansville (April 9) and UT Martin (April 21st) during the month.

Freshman third baseman Gino Avros has a hit in 11 of his last 15 games, batting .345 (20-58) with 17 runs scored. He has pushed his average up 75 points thanks to the burst.

Redshirt senior shortstop Garrett Kueber has five multi-hit outings in his last eight games. He is batting .452 (14-31) with two home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored.

2018-19 APSU Baseball - Malcolm TiplerJunior utility man Malcolm Tipler posted the Govs fifth four-hit day of 2019 against SIUE, April 27th, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored.

Sophomore infielder Bobby Head has a hit and is batting .556 (5-9) with a home run and three RBI in his last four starts.

Senior catcher Alex Sala hit his first homer of 2019 against Jacksonville and is batting .368 (7-19) with three extra base hits in his last six starts.

Sophomore first baseman John McDonald went 4-for-10 in three starts against Jacksonville and is batting .360 (9-25) since the EKU series.

Toeing The Rubber

Knoxville-native Tyler Thompson will make his first start since April 2nd. It will be his seventh start of 2019, all in midweek outings.

Thompson is 1-0 with a 6.85 ERA in his six previous starts. He has 20 strikeouts in 23.2 innings as a starter.

The Governors pitching staff owns a league-leading 9.58 strikeout per nine rate that ranks 28th nationally and would shatter the program record of 8.48 set in 1967.

Austin Peay’s 423 strikeouts ranks 7th-most in program history, 44 strikeouts shy of breaking the program record of 466 Ks set in 2013 and 2017.

Since the EKU series loss, the Govs pitching staff has posted a 4.87 ERA, limiting opponents to a .245 batting average and allowing only 5.2 runs per game.

APSU Govs vs. UT Vols

Austin Peay and Tennessee meet for the second consecutive year and for the sixth time since 2011. Tennessee has won five of those six meetings, Austin Peay last picking up a win in 2012.

The Volunteers hold a 19-5 lead in the all-time series with two of the Govs wins coming since 2009.

Pitching Matchups

Date Austin Peay Starter Opposing Starter
Tue., 5/7 RHP Tyler Thompson (1-1. 7.38) RHP Will Neely (2-1, 5.96)
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