Clarksville, Tn –Austin Peay State University’s softball team will host Trevecca Nazarene University, 1:00pm, Saturday at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, for a doubleheader to open its fall schedule of games.
The contests signal the start of the 35th year for the softball program and the second under head coach Kassie Stanfill, who led the Governors to a 33-22 overall record in her first season at the helm – including a 16-6 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.
“We love playing in the fall at home because it gives us a chance to start building our home base and giving our fans a chance to see Team 35 in action,” Stanfill said. “We’ll be making some changes and putting some people in new positions, but at the end of the day we are going to go out and compete and hopefully see some things that we get to work on for the rest of the fall and go from there.”The Govs return 12 players from last year’s team, including sophomore Lexi Osowski (.387 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI), who was an All-OVC Second-Team and All-OVC Newcomer Team selection, and senior pitcher/first baseman Kelsey Gross (8-1 W-L, 2.13 ERA, 44 K’s/.315 BA, 4 HR, 24 RBI), who is the program’s all-time leader in saves as well as ranking in the Top 10 all-time in wins.
Austin Peay also returns 2019 starters Drew Dudley (Sr., IF), Bailey Shorter (Jr., OF), Brooke Pfefferle (Jr., IF), Emily Moore (Sr., UT) as well as Emily Harkleroad (redshirt sophomore, UT), who missed the 2019 season due to injury, but started at first base as a freshman in 2018.
This weekend’s contests will also be the first chance for eight new Governors on the roster to see action, a group led by pitchers: junior college transfer Harley Mullins (Soph., Northeast Mississippi Community College) and true freshman Shelby Harpe (Social Circle, GA).