Clarksville, TN – Back on the road to begin a season-long five-game road trip, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team meets nationally-ranked Ole Miss in a Tuesday contest at Swayze Field. The first pitch is at 6:30pm.
Austin Peay looks to rebound after losing both games of an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader to Morehead State, Friday, ending a stretch of 11 games without consecutive losses.
The APSU Govs batted .340 during the three-game series with MSU, with four batters recording five or more hits. Third baseman Gino Avros enjoyed another solid OVC weekend, going 7-for-12 with two walks in the series.
Ole Miss dropped its second-straight Southeastern Conference series, falling to No. 1 Arkansas, last weekend, after falling at No. 15 Florida the weekend prior. Still, the Rebels are 11-4 overall since the start of SEC play and haven’t lost consecutive games since March 14th-16th. Catcher Hayden Dunhurst opened the series against Arkansas with a 5-for-5 effort and finished the series 8-for-15 with seven RBI, leading an offense that batted .387 against the Razorbacks.
Inside The Series
The Series: 20 previous meetings, UM leads 18-2
Previously: OM won the 2018 meeting, 11-4, in Oxford.
Notably: Ole Miss has won the last 14 meetings in the series. Austin Peay State University last won a game in the series during the 1998 season, 15-4, in Oxford. This will be the Govs fifth contest against a Top 25 team this season, previously facing Dallas Baptist and Tennessee. Austin Peay has seven wins against teams from Power 5 conferences under head coach Travis Janssen: Oklahoma (2016), #6 N.C. State (2017), Notre Dame (2017), Illinois (2018), Kansas State (2018), #5 Clemson (2018) and #1 Vanderbilt (2019).
Probable Starters
Govs RHP Sebastian Martinez vs. Ole Miss RHP Tyler Myers
Martinez will make his first start as a Governor at Ole Miss, Tuesday. He leads the APSU Govs with 13 appearances this season and owns a 3.38 ERA. Martinez has made 32 career relief appearances with his longest outing a 3.1-inning effort at Northwestern State earlier this season.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University has recorded seven of its eight double-digit hit outings this season since March 20th. The Govs are batting .310 and averaging 7.6 runs over the 13-game stretch that has seen them win seven games.
Catcher Jack Alexander opened the Morehead State series by reaching in all four of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, and two RBI. It was his first multi-hit outing since the March 26 Belmont series opener.
Third baseman Gino Avros ranks ninth among OVC hitters with a .390 batting average in league games and is eighth with a .479 on-base percentage. He has particularly enjoyed playing at The Hand where he is batting .459 this season.
Designated hitter Ty DeLancey went 2-for-4 in Game 2 of the Morehead State series, Friday. It was his third multi-hit outing in April after recording only two multi-hit outings prior to the month.
Outfielder TJ Foreman saw a four-game hit streak end in Friday’s doubleheader against Morehead State. He had brought hit average up 59 points during a seven-game stretch, ending Friday, that saw him bat .409 (9-22) with four RBI.
Outfielder Knaje Guthrie made his first collegiate home run count, hitting a grand slam in Game 2 of the Morehead State series, Friday. He has been the Govs starting left fielder since March 20 when he made his first collegiate start at Southeast Missouri.
Shortstop Bobby Head has been Austin Peay State University’s best hitter in April, batting .448 (13-29) with six RBI and seven runs scored. He saw a six-game hit streak end in the Morehead State series finale, Friday, but has reached safely in nine straight games.
First baseman John McDonald had a hit in all three games of the Morehead State series, including a 3-for-3 outing in the series finale. He went 5-for-9 with a home run, three walks, and two RBI in the series.
Center fielder Garrett Spain has been the ASPU Govs best bat on the road this season, leading the way with a .339 batting average, five home runs, a .695 slugging percentage, and 14 RBI in the 15 road games to date.
Second baseman Malcolm Tipler went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a RBI in the series finale against Morehead State, Friday, providing Austin Peay State University’s lone run. It capped a 5-for-9, three-double weekend for the Govs fifth-year player.
