Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team will once more be in the Southeastern Conference fray when it meets Ole Miss in a Tuesday 6:30pm game at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.
It’s the Govs’ sixth and final game against an SEC opponent this season, and they bring a 3-2 record against the SEC into the midweek outing.
However, Austin Peay State University is looking to snap a two-game losing streak in midweek outings that coincides with a stretch that has seen it go 6-7 after starting the season 9-1.
Ole Miss is 5-1 in midweek affairs, having won five straight, including a victory against Southern Miss last Tuesday.
On The Mound For APSU
Right-hander Adam Walker is set to make his second start of 2024 at Ole Miss. On February 25th, he was the Govs’ Game 3 starter against UMES and struck out seven batters over 3.0 innings.
Walker has had four relief appearances since then and struck out four batters in back-to-back relief outings against Western Kentucky and at Lipscomb. He has 17 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched this season.
First Hacks
Center fielder John Bay has a home run in six of his last 10 games. He is batting .389 (14-for-36) with 15 RBI and has a 1.027 slugging percentage and .489 on-base percentage over those 10 games.
In the seven games since his return to the lineup on March 12, right fielder/first baseman Harrison Brown has five hits, three home runs, six RBI, and reached base at a .387 clip.
Utility man Jaden Brown has put together a six-game hit streak that has seen him hit .391 (9-for-23) with a double, triple, and three RBI. He has a hit in 14 of his 17 games played this season.
Catcher Trevor Conley extended his hit streak to nine games with a base hit in the Auburn series opener on March 8th. However, he was injured in that game and has missed the Govs’ last 10 games.
Catcher Keaton Cottam started back-to-back games at Lipscomb and against Southeast Missouri. He was held hitless at Lipscomb but rebounded with a 1-for-2 effort against Southeast Missouri, which included a sac bunt.
Catcher Gus Freeman returned to the Govs’ lineup on March 9 at Auburn and went 2-for-5 with two RBI in his return. He has started eight games and is batting .308 (8-for-26) since his return.
Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar has a string of six consecutive multi-hit games entering the week and is batting .500 (14-for-28) with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 12 RBI. He is fourth in the ASUN with a .410 batting average and is one of three ASUN hitters with 10 or more doubles.
Infielder Conner Gore made his season debut off the bench at Lipscomb on March 17. He has a hit in all three games since his return, with two doubles and a triple among his four hits.
Right fielder Clayton Gray got off to a slow start against Queens, with one hit in the first two games, but closed the series with his 11th multi-hit outing of the season, going 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBI.
Lyle Miller-Green, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, brings a streak of five straight multi-hit games into the week. He is batting .480 (12-for-25) during the streak with four doubles, four home runs, and nine RBIoff
Infielder Justin Olson reached base in five of 14 plate appearances at Auburn, March 8-10. However, he did not play at Lipscomb after Harrison Brown returned to the lineup. With Brown taking Miller-Green’s spot in right field against Southeast Missouri Tuesday, Olson started at first base.
Infielder Brody Szako has a hit and RBI in his last six games dating back to March 16. He is batting .423 (11-for-26) with 10 RBI during the streak and has a double, triple, and three home runs.
Infielder Ambren Voitik led the Austin Peay State University against Queens, batting .727 (8-for-11) with a double, two home runs, eight RBI, and six runs scored. His weekend included a grand slam in the series opener, Friday.
Infielders Andres Matias, Mateo Hernandez, and outfielder Nathan Barksdale have been part of the Govs’ “Hands Team,” each entering the game defensively when the APSU Govs are leading late.
APSU Govs Top Notes And Notables
Three SEC Dubs
With its March 9th win at Auburn, Ausitn Peay State University picked up their third victory against a Southeastern Conference foe this season. It is the fifth time APSU has recorded three wins against the SEC in a season. The 2024 Govs join the 1974, 1980, 1990, and 1996 teams with three SEC wins. APSU has not won four games against SEC foes in the same season.
Atop The Rankings
Austin Peay State University enters the weekend ranked No. 4 nationally in doubles (64) and slugging percentage (.611). The APSU Govs are also among the nation’s Top 10 in batting average (6th, .335) and home runs (9th, 49).
Right fielder Lyle Miller-Green is ranked fifth nationally with 13 home runs and sixth with a .932 slugging percentage.
Center fielder John Bay is 16th nationally with 11 home runs and is eighth in Division I with a .898 slugging percentage.
Austin Peay State University shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar is the ASUN’s “Toughest Batter to Strikeout,” averaging a strikeout every 12.5 at-bats (NCAA) or in 8.8 percent of all plate appearances (D1Baseball).
Starting pitcher Andrew Devine is one of only eight pitchers with multiple complete games this season.
APSU reliever Titan Kennedy-Hayes leads the ASUN and is ranked 21st in Division I with four saves in 2024.
About the Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels won the 2022 NCAA College World Series after earning an at-large bid and No. 3 seed in the Coral Gables Regional hosted by Miami. They lost one game in the NCAA Tournament that season, sweeping through the regional round and shutting out Southern Miss in back-to-back games of the Hattiesburg Super Regional.
Once the Rebels get on base, they move quickly with their 35 stolen bases ranking fourth in the SEC. Ethan Lege is among the SEC’s Top 10 hitters entering this week’s action. His .378 batting average ranks eighth in the league. Lege also ranks as the SEC’s “Toughest to Strikeout,” averaging a strikeout every 16.4 at-bats (NCAA) or in 4.7 percent of his plate appearances.
On the power side of the spectrum, Andrew Fischer is the Rebels’ big bat. He has 11 home runs in 25 games this season, ranking 11th nationally. Fischer’s .814 slugging percentage is seventh in the SEC and 27th nationally. Riley Maddox has been Ole Miss’ midweek starter this season and picked up his second win in his last start against Southern Miss on March 19th. He’s gone six innings in each of his last two starts, allowing just five runs (3.75 ERA) in those two outings.
Series Details
The Series: 21 previous meetings, Ole Miss leads the series, 19-2.
Govs’ Last Win: February 17th, 1998, Austin Peay def. Ole Miss, 15-4 in Oxford.
Notably: Austin Peay State University and Ole Miss have met 19 times in Oxford where the Rebels hold a 17-2 advantage in the series. The APSU Govs won the 1996 and 1998 meetings in Oxford but have lost 13 straight meetings since that 1998 win… Ole Miss last traveled to Clarksville during the 1999 season.
Broadcast Information
The game will be available on the ESPN+ courtesy the Ole Miss Athletics Department.
Follow APSU
Keep up to date with all Austin Peay State University baseball on the official website of Austin Peay Athletics – www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all APSU Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
