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HomeSportsAPSU Baseball finishes regular season hosting Morehead State

APSU Baseball finishes regular season hosting Morehead State

APSU BaseballClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team seeks to close out the 2022 regular season in strong fashion when it hosts Morehead State in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, Thursday-Saturday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.

The final regular-season set gets underway with a Thursday 6:00pm tilt before resuming on Friday at 6:00pm and concluding on Saturday at 1:00pm.

The Governors return to action after dropping a three-game set at Tennessee Tech last weekend. Austin Peay State University recorded 16 extra-base hits in its 28-hit weekend, but the Govs pitcher’s had a less enjoyable stay in Cookeville, allowing 21 walks and a 2.04 WHIP over the three games.
 
Morehead State has won its last two games and eight of its last 11 entering this weekend’s set. The Eagles claimed series wins against UT Martin and Eastern Illinois before dropping a series to SIU Edwardsville last weekend. However, MSU claimed the final game of the series before winning at Marshall, Tuesday, to sweep the home-and-home set against the Thundering Herd.
 
Austin Peay State University center fielder TJ Foreman was unstoppable last week, going 10-for-19 (.526) over four games with two doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI. He enters the week ranked 11th among OVC hitters with a .368 batting average in league play. Right fielder Harrison Brown and shortstop John Bolton are 18th and 19th among OVC hitters, each batting .347 in league play. 
 
Morehead State has three hitters ranked among the OVC’s Top 7 in batting average: Nick Gooden, Alex Jacobs, and Jackson Feltner. Gooden is second in the OVC with a .412 batting average while Jacobs has a .379 batting average that places his sixth. Meanwhile, Feltner is seventh with a .378 batting average but fifth in the OVC with a .744 slugging percentage thanks to his nine OVC home runs.

For Your Comfort and Safety

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.

Ticket Information

Single-game tickets are still available for this weekend’s series. 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.

On The Mound

GAME 1 | RHP Tyler Delong vs. RHP Grant Herron

Delong notched his second-straight OVC win at Tennessee Tech last week, working both sides of a 2-hour, 15-minute weather delay. In his last three outings, he has a 3.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings while allowing only 12 hits. Herron is battling a rough stretch that has seen him not get past the third inning in three of his last four starts, with only 6.2 innings of scoreless work at UT Martin breaking up the string.

GAME 2 | LHP Harley Gollert vs. RHP Luke Helton

Gollert also worked both sides of a 2-hour, 30-minute weather delay in his start at Tennessee Tech, but was not able to claim the win. He last emerged victorious in the APSU Govs’ April 9th win at UT Martin. He has recorded 27 strikeouts in 24.2 innings in the five starts since that win. Helton has not won his last four starts, last winning a April 14 start against Belmont. He did post a quality start against UT Martin and went 8.0 innings against Eastern Illinois.

GAME 3 | RHP Drew McIllwain vs. TBA

McIllwain was unable to back up his win against Murray State two weeks ago, being left with no decision after a 2.2-inning outing at Tennessee Tech last week. He does have 18 strikeouts in 13 innings over his last three starts. LHP John Bakke started the past three Game 3s for Morehead State, picking up wins against UT Martin (complete game) and Eastern Illinois (quality start).

Through The Lineup

Austin Peay State University catcher Jack Alexander hit home runs in back-to-back games at Tennessee Tech and finished the series batting .308 with 3 RBI. It was the first time this season he’s posted back-to-back homers.

Since resuming first base duties May 1 at Toledo, John McDonald has a hit in 5 of 8 games.
 
Ty DeLancey has started the last 7 games at second base. He is batting .267 (8-30) in May but six of his hits have gone for extra bases (4 doubles, 2 home runs).
 
Beginning with his 4-for-4 outing against Eastern Kentucky, March 13th, utility man Gino Avros is batting .340 (49-144) with 26 RBI and 16 doubles. His 23 doubles this season leads the OVC and ranks 4th in Division I.
 
Shortstop John Bolton has a hit in 23 of the 30 games since the start of OVC play, including 10 multi-hit outings. He is batting .311 (33-106) with 13 doubles and 14 RBI in that span.
 
Third baseman Michael Robinson brings a 5-game hit streak into this weekend’s series (tied with TJ Foreman for longest active hit streak). He is batting .333 (6-18) with a double, home run, and 3 RBI during the streak.
 
Outfielder Harrison Brown notched a pinch-hit 3-run home run in Game 2 of the APSU Govs’ series at Tennessee Tech. He had a hit in 3 of the Govs’ four games last week.
 
Outfielder TJ Foreman became the latest Govs’ hitter with a 4-hit day, going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI against Western Kentucky, May 10. He has a hit in 17 of the 18 games since his return to the lineup, April 15. He is batting .478 (33-69) with 6 doubles, a triple, 4 home runs, and 20 runs scored since his return.
 
Outfielder Jeremy Wagner saw a streak of 7-consecutive starts in right field end in the Tennessee Tech series finale. He had a hit in 4 of the 7 games during the streak.
 
Reid Brown got a pair of starts at designated hitter during the Tennessee Tech series, going 1-for-6 with a double, 2 walks, and a run scored.

Follow The APSU Govs

This weekend’s series is available on PeayStats.com for live scoring or get important game updates on Twitter by following @GovsBSB.

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