Clarksville, TN – Five games against future ASUN Conference foes await the Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team this week. First up is a home-and-home midweek pair with Lipscomb starting with a Tuesday 3:00pm meeting in Clarksville before a Wednesday affair in Nashville that starts at 4:00pm.
Lipscomb enters the midweek fresh off a home three-game sweep of Northern Illinois. Outfielder John Shields was 5-for-11 with seven RBI and a grand slam against the Huskies. Third baseman Trace Willhoite was 6-for-13 with three RBI.
Following the midweek pair against the Bisons, the Govs host ASUN member Eastern Kentucky in a three-game series, slated to begin Friday.
New To The Hand
Austin Peay State University’s athletics department made two major changes to improve the fan experience this spring at Raymond C. Hand Park. First, new netting was installed that extends from dugout to dugout and is 30 feet high to protect the seating area and hillsides behind both dugouts. Fans are reminded foul balls may still enter the seating area but the new netting should provide a safer experience.
In addition, new chairback seating was installed behind home plate. The new reserved seating area provides additional seating space for fans along with cup holders for their ice-cold Coca-Cola products.
On The Mound
TUESDAY | RHP Sebastian Martinez vs. TBA
Martinez is penciled in to make his first start of 2022 after making seven starts in 2021. He began this season with three scoreless relief appearances (6.1 innings) before allowing four runs in 1.1 innings during the series finale against Kent State.
GAME 2 | RHP Drew McIllwain vs. LHP Collin Romel
McIllwain tossed seven shutout innings in the Govs’ Game 2 shutout win against the Falcons. He didn’t issue a walk and only allowed four hits while striking out four to notch his first win this season.
Romel has tossed five innings in back-to-back outings against West Virginia and Texas Tech to begin 2022. He opened the season by striking out seven WVU batters over five innings but suffered the loss. He was left with no decision at TTU last weekend.
Through The Lineup
Catcher Jack Alexander is batting .560 (14-for-25) with 9 RBI and 9 runs scored during his 8-game hit streak. He has caught 87 of the Austin Peay State University 106 innings this season (82 percent).
First baseman John McDonald’s reached-safely streak stands at 33 games, which is the 7th longest streak at APSU since 1996. Next up is Greg Troy’s 34-game streak (1999) and Lance Wampler’s 35-game stretch (2000).
Second baseman Jonah Beamon saw a 4-game hit streak end in Saturday’s Kent State finale. After opening the month with that 4-game hit streak, he is batting .357 (5-for-14) with 5 RBI in March.
Shortstop John Bolton ended a three-game hitless streak with a 2-for-3 effort in the Kent State finale, Saturday, with a double, walk, RBI, and 2 runs scored. It was his 4th multi-hit outing this season.
Third baseman Michael Robinson battled through his own 3-game hitless streak, but interestingly had an RBI in each game of that streak. He broke the stretch with a 1-for-3 effort in the KSU series finale, reaching base in 3 of his 5 plate appearances.
Center fielder Skyler Luna is battling through a rough patch that has saw him post one hit in five games (.056). Prior to this stretch, he had a pair of two-hit outings in a three-game stretch (vs. Boston College and Bowling Green).
Gino Avros saw his season-opening 11-game reached-safely streak end in the Kent State series finale, Saturday. It also brought an end to his 7-game hit streak that saw him bat .360 with 10 runs scored.
Jeremy Wagner started in left and center field during Saturday’s doubleheader, finishing the day 5-for-8 with a home run and 2 RBI. He has a hit in each of his last 5 starts and is batting .400 (10-25) over his 6 starts with a home run and 6 RBI.
Harrison Brown closed the Kent State series with a 2-for-3, 4 RBI outing that saw him post a 2-run single and 2-run double. It was his first multi-hit and multi-RBI effort this season.
Austin Peay State University pinch hitters are batting .300 (6-for-20) with 6 walks and 3 HBPs – a .517 on-base percentage. Matt Joslin leads the team with seven pinch-hit opportunities in 2022 and is 1-for-3 with three walks and an HBP (.714 on-base percentage) as a pinch hitter.
Tickets
Season and single-game tickets are still available for the 31-game home slate. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance by visiting LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or by calling the APSU Athletics Ticket Office at 931.221.PEAY (7329). The ticket window at Raymond C. Hand Park opens one hour prior to first pitch each day.
Follow The APSU Govs
This week’s series against Lipscomb is available on PeayStats.com for live scoring through the series or get important game updates on Twitter by following @GovsBSB.
