Austin Peay (5-7 | 0-0 OVC) vs. Murray State (8-5 | 0-0 OVC)
March 6th, 7th, 8th, 2020 | 6:00pm CT, 1:00pm CT, 1:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Raymond C. Hand Park
Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University baseball team begins its 30-game Ohio Valley Conference schedule when it hosts Murray State in a three-game series, beginning Friday-Sunday, March 6th-8th, 2020. The First Financial Battle of the Border event opens with a 6:00pm, Friday contest followed by 1:00pm outings both Saturday and Sunday.
The Governors head into the weekend series fresh off an impressive outing by its pitching staff against Southern Illinois, Wednesday.
Austin Peay State University held the Salukis to one run on three hits with six pitchers combining to toss the victory. Offensively, the APSU Govs posted double-digit hits for the fourth time this season against the Salukis.
Murray State opened its five-game road trip with a narrow defeat at Kentucky, Wednesday. The Racers tied the game in the top of the ninth only to see the Wildcats hit a walkoff home run to win the game. Murray State boasts one of the OVC’s top pitching staffs, ranking second in the league with a 3.43 ERA and all three of its weekend starters owning a sub-2.00 ERA.
| 6:00pm, Fri., March 6th | 1:00pm, Sat., March 7th | 1:00pm, Sun., March 8th |
| PROJECTED STARTERS APSU: Harley Gollert (So., LHP | 0-0, 8.36 ERA) MSU: Trevor McMurray (Sr., RHP | 2-0, 0.00 ERA)Gollert leads the Govs with 14 innings pitching in his three starts this season. He has owns a 14:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season but opponents have 22 hits (.373 BA) against him. |
PROJECTED STARTERS APSU: To Be AnnouncedMSU: Shane Burns (So., LHP | 1-1, 0.57 ERA)Austin Peay has not announced a starter for Saturday’s contest. Junior Hayden Josephson was the Saturday starter in each of the season’s first three weekends. |
PROJECTED STARTERS APSU: To Be AnnouncedMSU: Sam Gardner (Gr., RHP | 2-0, 1.46 ERA)Austin Peay has not announced a starter for Sunday’s contest. Senior Tyler Thompson made the first two Sunday starts before junior Kyle Nunn picked up the start at Jacksonville. |
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First Hacks
Austin Peay State University sophomore third baseman Gino Avros has reached safely in all 12 games this season and owns a 26-game reached safely streak that began last season. He also has a base hit in his last 9 games, batting .314 (11-for-35).
Junior transfer TJ Foreman batted a team-best .444 with 2 starts as the APSU Govs designated hitter at Jacksonville. He extended his hit streak to 4 games against Southern Illinois, starting in left field, and is batting .357 (5-for-14) during the streak.
Sophomore center fielder Garrett Spain was a single shy of the cycle (3-for-5) in APSU’s Game 2 win at Jacksonville. 4 of his last 5 base hits have gone for extra bases, including two triples.
Junior transfer catcher Alex Hay is batting .333 (7-for-21) over his last 6 games with 2 doubles and 4 RBI. The stretch includes his first 3-hit game as a Governor against Evansville, February 23rd. Behind the plate, he has caught four runners attempting to steal this season.
Junior shortstop Bobby Head saw a 6-game hit streak snapped in the Jacksonville series finale, March 1st. However, he is batting .346 (9-for-26) with a .469 on-base percentage in his last 9 games.
Freshman right fielder Skyler Luna continues to lead the APSU Govs with 11 RBI this season. He was held to 2-for-13 hitting in four games last week.
Junior Griffin Rivers started all three games in left field at Jacksonville. He had a RBI single in Game 1 and walked 3 times in Game 2 of the set.
Senior second baseman/outfielder Malcolm Tipler drove in two runs in Game 2 of the Jacksonville series, his first multi-RBI effort this season. He followed that with a double, RBI fielder’s choice and a stolen base against Southern Illinois, Wednesday.
Freshman Reid Brown was the Austin Peay State University starting first baseman in the Jacksonville series opener but was held without a hit against the Dolphins.
Senior Max Remy started back-to-back games at second base, February 23rd and 25th. He went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in his first start against Evansville, Sunday, and reached base in 1 of his 3 plate appearances at WKU, Tuesday.
Freshman catcher Tyler Cotto has made one start in each of the first three weekends. He went 1-for-2 with a walk in the Jacksonville series finale and caught a runner stealing.
Little League Night
The APSU Governors will recognize the St. Bethlehem Little League teams prior to Friday’s contest. Members of the league’s teams, in uniform, will receive free admission to the game (adults must pay for admission).
