Clarksville, TN – With a spot in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament already locked up, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) softball team will closeout its 2021 regular season versus Eastern Kentucky, this weekend at Cathi Maynard Park-Cheryl Holt Field, as the two teams, along with Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State battle for tournament seedings.
The series will begin with a doubleheader, noon, Saturday and conclude with a 1:00pm single game on Sunday.
This weekend will also the Senior Weekend for the Governors, with six current APSU softball players (Drew Dudley, Kelsey Gray, Kelsey Gross, Brett Jackson, Emily Moore, and Katelyn Smith) playing in their final home games of their career.
The Senior Day ceremony for 2021 graduating class will take place following the Saturday doubleheader.
The Austin Peay State University (25-14, 20-11 OVC) currently sit in third place in the league’s standings, while the Eastern Kentucky (32-13, 22-7 OVC) are in second place.
This series between the Govs and Colonels is the fifth most-played series in the APSU history, with the first game this weekend being the 81st all-time meeting between the two schools, while also being the final regular-season meeting between the two schools as members of the Ohio Valley Conference, with EKU leaving the OVC after the current school year.
Overall, the Govs trail in the series 17- 63, including a 10-24 mark in all games played in Clarksville.
Austin Peay State University is led offensively by junior third baseman Lexi Osowski (.425, 5 HR, 24 RBI), followed by senior shortstop Brooke Pfefferle (.348, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and senior center fielder Bailey Shorter (.317, 4 HR, 19 RBI).
Eastern Kentucky enters the weekend led at the plate by Sammi Miller (.431, 4 HR, 23 RBI), Carly Robinson (.330, 8 HR, 36 RBI) and Zoe Mihalicz (.301, 5 HR, 23 RBI).
In the circle, the Govs pitching staff is led by Gross, who is 9-2 this season, with two shutouts, three saves, a 2.14 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 75.1 innings of work.
She is followed by freshman Jordan Benefiel (8-6, 1.70 ERA, 7 K’s), junior Harley Mullins (7-5, 5.47 ERA, 44 K’s) and sophomore Shelby Harpe (1-0, 3.50 ERA, 4 K’s).
Tori Peterson leads the Colonels pitching staff with a 16-4 record, including a 2.16 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 113.1 innings pitched, while Mollie Paulick is 10-1, with a 1.79 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 70.1 innings of work.
APSU Hit and Run
Brett Jackson has thrown out a OVC leading 11 base stealers this season.
For the first time in the program’s 36-year history, the Govs have three pitchers on the roster who have all won at least seven games in the same season.
Kelsey Gross is one RBI away from becoming just the third player to drive in at least 40 RBIs in a single season for the APSU Govs.
Austin Peay State University has qualified for the last three OVC Championship Tournaments, marking the first time they have done that since the 2001 through 2003 seasons.
The APSU Govs come into the weekend with the best home-field record this season among OVC teams, at 13-2.
