Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University baseball team continues its challenging seven-game road trip when it meets nationally-ranked Vanderbilt in a Tuesday outing at Hawkins Field in Nashville. The game begins at 4:30pm.
The APSU Govs began their current seven-game excursion with a three-game series at Dallas Baptist last weekend. Austin Peay State University fell to the Patriots 9-4, 4-3, and 10-4. The Govs were held to 19 hits in the series but scored 11 runs thanks to eight extra-base hits.
Head coach Roland Fanning notched his first win as a head coach during the APSU Govs’ opening weekend against Illinois State. He took over an Austin Peay State University program that posted 19 wins in 2022 after serving as an assistant the past 15 seasons, including stints at Oklahoma State and Kentucky.
Fanning’s hire sparked a near-complete flip of the Governors’ roster. Austin Peay State University’s 2023 lineup includes 27 transfers – the most of any Division I program – with 17 transfers coming from a previous Division I roster.
Austin Peay State University was picked to finish 11th in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, D1Baseball.com tapped the Govs to finish eighth and marked the Govs as one of its Top Turnaround Teams in a preseason podcast.
Broadcast Information
ipTV: SEC Network+ (ESPN+ / ESPN App)
TALENT: Kevin Ingram (PxP) and Andrew Harris (Analyst)
LIVE STATS: PeayStats.com
Series History
The Series: 81 previous meetings | Vanderbilt leads, 54-25-2
Notably: The Governors and Commodores series began with single games in 1938 and 1958 before becoming a nearly annual affair in 1971. Austin Peay State University has won three of the 21 meetings between the teams since Tim Corbin took over as head coach in 2003. Only one of those wins has come at Hawkins Field, a 7-6 victory in 10 innings during the 2019 season..
Climbing The Hill
Jacob Kush makes his second-straight midweek start and looks to improve on his Austin Peay State University debut against Southern Illinois, last Tuesday. He went three innings and allowed six runs on seven hits but did not factor into the decision. This will be Kush’s first appearance against the Commodores despite playing the past two seasons for SEC member Missouri.
First Hacks
Utility man Matt Aribal added first base to his list of positions played in 2023, taking over midway through Sunday’s finale after starter Michael Robinson left the game for precautionary reasons. In his Game 2 start at second base, he was 1-for-3 and notched his season’s second double.
Outfielder Harrison Brown has started three of the last four games in left field and has a hit in all four games, including his 2-for-4 outing in Sunday’s game that included a double and run scored.
Shortstop Jaden Brown has a hit in all five games played this season, tacking on a 1-for-3, two-RBI, two-walk performance Sunday that saw him drive in APSU’s first two runs in the finale.
Catcher Trevor Conley caught all three games of the DBU series, starting Games 1 and 2 before coming off the bench for the injured Jacob Curtis in Game 3. Conley provided a pair of bunt singles and was hit by a pitch in his four plate appearances in the finale.
Infielder Jon Jon Gazdar was held hitless in the DBU opener but bounced back with a hit in each of the series’ final two games. He also notched his first homer as a Governor, hitting the top of the right-field wall in Saturday’s contest.
Infielder Conner Gore started the first two games of the DBU series but was held out of the finale on a coaches’ decision. He reached base safely in his first five games this season – with a hit in three of those games.
All five of center fielder Clayton Gray’s base hits this season have gone for doubles, including his two base hits at DBU. He also had a walk and stolen base during the DBU set.
Right fielder Garrett Martin began his weekend in Dallas with a triple, home run, and two RBI. He moved into the leadoff spot in the order for Sunday’s finale and drove in a run in that outing.
Infielder Michael Robinson rejoined the APSU Govs lineup with a splash Tuesday against SIU, last Tuesday, hitting his second career grand slam as part of Austin Peay State University’s 6-run fourth inning. He started at third base (Game 1) and first base (Game 3) at DBU but was held without a hit in seven plate appearances.
Third baseman Ambren Voitik saw his season-opening six-game hit streak come to an end in the DBU series finale but supplied a run on a sacrifice fly. He had three multi-hit games in his first six games with the Govs.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team heads back to the southern plains for a three-game series at nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, Friday-Sunday, at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater. The trip to the Sooner State will be a return home for seven Governors and three members of the APSU coaching staff, including head coach Roland Fanning.
