Deland, FL – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team turned away a Stetson five-run fifth inning by again scoring nine unanswered runs to secure a 12-7 Atlantic Sun Conference win Sunday on Melching Field at Conrad Park.
Austin Peay (30-17, 16-8 ASUN) won the three-game ASUN series against Stetson and moved atop the ASUN regular-season standings with six conference games remaining. This win marked the Governors’ 30th win this season, their first 30-win campaign since 2019,
Stetson (30-18, 15-9 ASUN) attempted to thwart the Govs’ rise to the top of the ASUN standings with a five-run fifth inning to take a 7-3 lead. The Hatters opened the inning with five consecutive base hits, including shortstop Lorenzo Melola’s RBI single that gave Stetson a 4-3 lead. Right fielder Jayden Hylton would cap the inning’s scoring with a two-out, two-run single before the APSU Govs could close the frame.
The Governors charged back immediately with a five-run sixth inning to retake the lead, 8-7. Second baseman Ambren Voitik sparked the rally with a one-out bunt single, and Stetson walked the next two batters to load the bases.
Then, with two out, third baseman Brody Szako and third baseman Harrison Brown each had two-run singles. Center fielder John Bay provided APSU’s fourth consecutive hit with two outs, an RBI double to cap the inning’s scoring.
Austin Peay State University sealed the win with three runs in the eighth inning. A pitch hit Szako to start the inning, and shortstop Jon Jon Gaxzdar singled. After Harrison Brown moved the runners into scoring position, Bay hit a deep fly ball for a sacrifice fly. Stetson then committed an error on a fly ball that would have been the inning’s third out but allowed a run to score instead.
The Govs took full advantage of the miscue when Voitik singled up the middle and then distracted the first baseman enough to allow pinch runner Nathan Barksdale to score, giving APSU an 11-7 lead they would not relinquish.
Gazdar went 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored to lead the APSU Govs’ 14-hit outing. Designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green, Szako, Bay, and Brown also had two RBI each.
Reliever Adam Walker (2-0) picked up the win after holding Stetson scoreless over 1.2 innings while scattering two hits and two walks. He started a closing stretch of five scoreless innings by the Governors’ bullpen, which was capped by closer Titan Kennedy-Hayes two scoreless innings.
Hylton led Stetson with a 2-for-4, three-RBI performance. First baseman Landon Moran was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Hatters reliever Chris Shine (3-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits while recording only one out.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team returns to Tennessee and will face Belmont in a Tuesday 6:00pm contest scheduled for Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Govs then travel to Central Arkansas for their penultimate ASUN weekend, Friday-Sunday, at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.
