Clarksville, TN – Catcher Gus Freeman’s tenth-inning walk-off double sent the Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team to a 9-8 ASUN Conference victory against Queens, Saturday on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The walk-off hit capped a day of critical contributions from the Governors’ backstop. Freeman opened his day with a second-inning sacrifice fly that gave APSU its first lead, 3-2. Two innings later, he provided a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position for left fielder Clayton Gray, who tied the game 6-6 with a three-run home run.
Freeman’s first hit came in the sixth inning, a one-out single the APSU Govs could not capitalize on. However, he would make the most of infielder Conner Gray’s leadoff double in the 10th inning, driving a 2-1 pitch past the Royals’ third baseman and into left field for the game-winning hit.
Austin Peay State University (18-18, 9-5 OVC) scored the game’s first two runs on back-to-back home runs by designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green and center fielder Garrett Martin.
Queens (6-28, 2-12 OVC) battled back with two runs in the second inning and four more in the third to build a 6-3 lead. The Royals took the lead in the third with two singles and a pair of fielder’s choice plays that drove in runs. Second baseman JD Coleman and catcher Tyler Cotto provided the back-to-back singles in the inning to put Queens ahead.
The APSU Govs tied the game in the fourth on Gray’s home run. The score stayed tied at 6-6 for two innings before each team scored two runs in the seventh. Queens took the lead in the seventh on shortstop Tyler Peters’ two-run double. Austin Peay State University responded in kind in its half of the inning courtesy of utility man Jaden Brown’s two-run double — Peters and Brown setting the scene for the extra-inning dramatics.
APSU Govs closer Davin Pollard (3-1) threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for the win. He entered the game with the go-ahead run on third base in the ninth inning but induced a lineout and flyout to escape the jam. In the 10th, Pollard issued a leadoff walk which moved to third on a passed ball and ground out. But again, he forged on, getting a pop-out and a lineout to diving center fielder Garrett Martin to keep the game tied.
Freeman finished the day 2-for-3 with two RBI. He was one of seven Govs hitters to record two hits in the game, and the Govs posted 15 hits.
Queens reliever Brandon Dahlman (3-1) allowed the back-to-back doubles in the 10th inning and took the loss. Peters went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI to lead the Royals’ offense.
Other Notables
Austin Peay State University won its first extra-inning game of 2023. The Govs dropped extra-inning outings to Illinois State, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Liberty.
It is Austin Peay State University’s first extra-inning victory since defeating Boston College in the second game of the 2022 season.
The Govs’ three-homer day was their third in ASUN play this season, and they improved to 3-0 in those games after winning at Liberty and against Bellarmine. It was their sixth three-homer (or more) game this season, and they are 5-1 overall.
Martin hit his 15th home run of 2023, moving into APSU’s Top 10 single-season home run leaders in Game 36, and is 10 shy of the program record with 20 regular-season games remaining.
Austin Peay State University secured its 70th team stolen base Saturday courtesy of third baseman Ambren Voitik’s second-inning steal. It is APSU’s most stolen bases since an 83-steal campaign in 2015.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team and Queens close their three-game series with a Saturday noon game on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. It also wraps up a five-game stay in Tennessee for the Govs, who return to the road next week.
