Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University baseball team closes the home portion of its 2023 schedule when it hosts ASUN Conference co-leader Lipscomb in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The Governors and Bisons open the series with a Friday game that begins at 6:00pm The Govs will recognize their seniors prior to Saturday’s game and will host a special Mother’s Day first pitch prior to Sunday’s contest.
Austin Peay State University ended a six-game ASUN losing streak with a 7-5 series finale win at Central Arkansas, Sunday. The APSU Govs reached first place in the ASUN after an April 22nd win at Jacksonville.
However, they lost starting first baseman Harrison Brown for the season in that game. Six days later, starting outfielder Garrett Martin left a game against Florida Gulf Coast for precautionary reasons and has missed the last six games.
Austin Peay State University remains tied for fifth place after dropping last weekend’s series at Central Arkansas. However, what was a two-way tie at fifth place developed into a three-team tie with another group of three teams sitting one game back.
With six games remaining in the ASUN slate, 11 of the league’s 14 teams remain in the hunt for one of eight tournament spots.
Broadcast Information
ipTV: ESPN+ / ESPN App
TALENT: Ethan Schmidt (Saturday and Sunday)
LIVE STATS: PeayStats.com
Series History
THE SERIES: 142 previous meetings. APSU leads, 72-69-1.
CURRENT STREAK: Lipscomb, five wins
APSU LAST WIN: March 5th, 2019, a 12-11 victory in Clarksville.
NOTABLY: Lipscomb’s five-game win streak in the series is the longest by either team since Austin Peay State University won 10 straight from 2009-13. The teams first met in 1931, making the series one of APSU’s longest-running series. The Governors and Bisons have met annually since 1958.
Climbing The Hill
Austin Peay State University Friday starter Jacob Kush looks to build on a six-inning outing at Central Arkansas last week that was his longest outing since going seven innings against Jacksonville on April 21st.
Right-hander Lyle Miller-Green also took a step in the right direction against Central Arkansas, going three innings after a rough outing against FGCU the week prior.
Righty Jacob Weaver tossed the APSU Govs’ fifth quality start at Central Arkansas, going a career-best 6.0 innings and allowing one earned run while striking out six batters. He picked up his first victory since a relief outing against Murray State on March 28th.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University infielder Matt Aribal has made back-to-back starts at second base. He made the most of his first start since April 29th, Sunday at Central Arkansas hitting his first two home runs as a Governor in a 2-for-4, three-RBI effort.
Outfielder John Bay saw his five-game hit streak (.286, 6-21) end at Tennessee, Tuesday. He was 4-for-12 with a home run and five runs scored during the Central Arkansas series.
APSU utility man Jaden Brown extended his reached-safely streak to 23 games during the Central Arkansas series, but has sat out the last two games. He has nine multi-hit outings during the streak.
Catcher Trevor Conley started twice at Central Arkansas and was 1-for-8 with a run scored. He is batting .320 (8-25) in his last seven starts.
Catcher Jacob Curtis returned from an injury on April 18th with a start at Southern Illinois. Including his April 25th start against Western Kentucky, he is 3-for-7 with three doubles and three RBI.
Catcher Gus Freeman is batting .368 (7-19) with two doubles in his last four starts, including a 3-for-5 outing in the FGCU series finale on April 30th.
Austin Peay State University shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar hit a double in each of his first two at-bats as part of a 2-for-5 outing at Tennessee, Tuesday. Those two doubles moved him into a tie for fourth among Division I hitters with 22 doubles this season.
Infielder Conner Gore has a hit in three straight games entering this weekend. He is batting .500 (4-8) with seven RBI during the streak, including his first APSU home run against Central Arkansas, Sunday.
Clayton Gray, went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a solo home run in Saturday’s game at Central Arkansas. Gray is tied for the Division I lead with 23 doubles and also has 20 stolen bases.
APSU outfielder Garrett Martin has missed six games (injury) but is tied for the team lead with 15 home runs leading the team with 55 runs scored and a .709 slugging percentage.
Lyle Miller-Green saw his 16-game hit streak come to an end at Tennessee. He batted .451 (32-71) with six doubles, seven home runs (.831 SLG), and 18 RBI during the streak.
Designated hitter/pitcher Lyle Miller-Green and shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar were named to national watch lists on April 17th. The College Baseball Foundation named Miller-Green to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List, while it named Gazdar to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, recognizing the nation’s top shortstop.
