Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team opens its first ASUN Conference season when it hosts North Florida in a three-game series on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. The three-game set is slated to begin on Friday at 4:00pm. The Governors and Ospreys then play a Saturday 1:00pm game before closing the series with a noon, Sunday affair.
Austin Peay State University returns home for the first time since February 21st. The APSU Govs saw an originally scheduled seven-game road trip, which was set to end with the Oklahoma State series, extended to 13 games after severe winds on March 3 damaged the fencing at The Hand.
APSU revamped its baseball program during the offseason, with head coach Roland Fanning hired in May. His hiring and a new staff sparked a near-complete flip of the Governors’ roster. The Govs’ 2023 lineup includes 27 transfers – the most of any Division I program – with 17 transfers coming from a previous Division I roster.
Broadcast Information
ipTV: ESPN+ / ESPN App
LIVE STATS: PeayStats.com
Series History
The Series: Five Previous Meetings, APSU leads 4-1.
Last Meetings: APSU swept a midweek pair from UNF in 2006 (3-2 & 3-1).
Notably: This weekend’s series will be the Ospreys’ first-ever trip to Clarksville, all five previous meetings were played in Jacksonville… UNF head coach Tim Parenton is 5-2 against Austin Peay, all when he was the head coach at Samford (1998-2004).
Climbing The Hill
Lyle Miller-Green moves up to the No. 1 spot this weekend and seeks to build on his last two starts. He went 5.2 innings at nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, striking out five and allowing two unearned runs. Miller-Green followed that with seven innings against Purdue Fort Wayne, allowing three runs and striking out seven.
Campbell Holt is scheduled to make his season’s first start Saturday. Last week, he came on in relief of starting pitcher Nick James and tossed five scoreless innings against Purdue Fort Wayne, striking out six batters and picked up his second win. Holt has not allowed an earned run in his last four outings (7.2 innings).
Jacob Kush makes his second consecutive start as the APSU Govs’ No. 3 starter. He notched his season’s first win last week after holding Purdue Fort Wayne to two runs over six innings. Kush struck out seven batters for the second consecutive start, but also walked none in a start for the first time this season.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University utility man Matt Aribal looks to break a three-game hitless streak with the return home. He went 4-for-4 in his home and Governors debut, February 18th.
Outfielder Harrison Brown saw his five-game RBI streak end with Tuesday’s outing at Western Kentucky. He has seven hits and five RBI in his last six games. Brown had the game-winning RBI in both halves of the Govs’ Friday doubleheader sweep against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Infielder Jaden Brown has a hit in five of his last six games. He is batting .269 (7-26) with five RBI during the last six games. During this stretch, Brown has two-hit outings at Oklahoma State and against Purdue Fort Wayne.
APSU catcher Trevor Conley also has a hit in five of his last six games. He is batting .333 (7-21) with four RBI over his last six games. He was responsible for both RBI in the Govs loss at Western Kentucky, Tuesday.
Infielder Gus Freeman made the most of his first at-bat as a Governor, hitting a solo home run in Game 1 of the Oklahoma State series. Since then he has five starts in the Govs’ last six games – three at first base and two at catcher.
Austin Peay State University infielder Jon Jon Gazdar has pushed his average up 75 points over the last eight games. He is batting .429 (12-28) with four doubles and three RBI in his previous eight games with a pair of three-hit outings.
Center fielder Clayton Gray has pushed his average up 115 points since Feb. 26, thanks to batting .368 (14-38) in his last 10 games. Gray also has scored a run in five consecutive games.
Right fielder Garrett Martin saw his five-game hit streak halted at Western Kentucky, Tuesday. He batted .533 (8-15) with two home runs, four walks, and three RBI in the Govs’ five-game stay in Evansville last week.
APSU designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green looks to recapture the magic of his opening weekend at The Hand. He began his APSU career with a .611 (11-18) batting average, seven RBI, and six extra-base hits in the season-opening four-game homestand.
Third baseman Ambren Voitik went 3-for-14 with three walks against Purdue Fort Wayne. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks in the series’ second game.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team returns to the road for all four games next week, beginning with a Tuesday 5:00pm game at Murray State. The Governors-Racers series is the longest in the APSU record book at 217 games with Murray State holding a narrow 110-107 edge.
