Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball starting pitcher Harley Gollert struck out a career-high eight batters but the Govs could not solve Samford starter Samuel Strickland and fell 6-0, Friday afternoon, in Day 2 of the SAF Dirt Classic on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Gollert (0-1) struck out eight and walked just one batter in six innings, but leadoff batters reaching in the first, third and sixth innings led to four runs against him.
He would strikeout the side in the third and struck out two in both the first and fifth innings en route to his career high.
Samford (4-1) capitalized when its leadoff batter reached throughout the game. Center fielder Max Pinto led off the game with a walk but nearly was left on base before left fielder Ayrton Schafer drove him in with a two-out single. Pinto doubled to lead off the third inning and first baseman Sonny DiChiara would drive him in with a one-out single.
The Bulldogs tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth after DiChiara singled to start the inning. Again, Gollert nearly escaped trouble thanks to a pair of outs. Yet Samford found a way to score with right fielder Ryan Crockett’s triple off the right center field wall. Shortstop Taylor Garris singled to drive in a second run before Gollert closed the inning.
Austin Peay State University (2-3) could not string together hits against Strickland over his six innings of work. The APSU Govs had an opportunity to tie the game in the first inning when third baseman Gino Avros doubled with one out, but was left standing at second as Strickland got a pair of outs to end the threat.
The Govs next quality scoring opportunities came in the fifth and sixth innings. Catcher Tyler Cotto singled and right fielder Skyler Luna got on base with two outs, but Strickland got a timely strikeout to end the frame. Austin Peay State University got its only back-to-back base hits in the sixth with first baseman Reid Brown and shortstop Bobby Head each singled with two out, but Strickland again evaded the threat with a ground out.
Avros had the Govs lone multihit outing, going 2-for-4 with a double. Six other Govs had a base hit as they were limited to eight hits.
DiChiara went 4-for-5 with two RBI to pace the Samford offense. Three other hitters had two hits each in a 14-hit outing by the Bulldogs.
Next Up For Austin Peay State University
The Austin Peay University baseball team continues play in the SAF Dirt Classic with a 1:00pm, Saturday contest against Bradley.
