Clarksville, TN – After an Opening Weekend that featured a pair of grand slams, a trio of wins, and a quintet of four-baggers, Austin Peay State University’s softball team heads to the Lone Star State for the three-day, five-game Whataburger Invitational, Friday-Sunday, at the Tarleton Softball Complex in Stephenville, Texas.
Austin Peay (3-2) opens its stay in Texas with a doubleheader against South Dakota State and Tarleton State beginning on Friday at 4:45pm, before then facing Houston Christian and Akron Saturday at 11:45am and 4:15pm, respectively. The Govs then conclude the event with on Sunday at 12:00pm against the Jackrabbits.
Last time out, the Governors captured a trio of wins at Mercer’s Heart of Georgia Classic last weekend with two wins against Florida A&M and another against Saint Joseph’s.
APSU’s designated player across each of its opening five games of the season, Raylon Roach led the Govs with six hits in Georgia, while Katie Raper shinned in her road trip as a Gov after recording a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, in APSU’s 6-0 victory against Saint Joseph’s last Saturday.
The game after Raper’s two home-run day, Hiley Hinton notched her first-career grand slam against Florida A&M, marking the first time the Govs have notched the four-bagger in back-to-back contests.
Another newcomer on the team, Kayleigh Roper led the Govs to a 3-2 victory against FAMU in the season opener last Friday with a two-out, walk-off home run. The Florida Gulf Coast transfer went on to be one of five Govs to finish the weekend with at least four hits.
In the circle, Emberly Nichols had an impressive start to her junior campaign, earning her second and third-career wins to finish the weekend 2-1 overall. Samantha Miener led APSU to its other win after tossing 3.2 innings in the 9-2 victory against the Rattlers on the final day of the Heart of Georgia Classic.
Austin Peay State University’s trip to Texas marks its first since facing Lamar in Beaumont, Texas during the 2019 season.
The Whataburger Invitational will be live-streamed for free on WACInternational.tv for free with live stats also available through peaystats.com.
Before the Pitch
The 40th season of Austin Peay State University softball continues for Week 2 at Tarleton State’s Whataburger Invitational.
Austin Peay State University will face both Tarleton State and Houston Christian for the first time in program history.
The Governors are 2-1 all-time against Akron and 0-1 against South Dakota State.
Last weekend, Austin Peay State Univesrsity went 3-2 at Mercer’s Heart of Georgia Classic.
The APSU Govs had 35 hits, five home runs, and 23 runs in Macon, Georgia to open the season.
Emberly Nichols went 2-1 in the circle for the Govs after allowing just three runs.
A Preseason All-ASUN selection, Kylie Campbell had five hits last weekend, with her final base knock moving her into a tie for 10th all-time in hits.
The all-time winningest head coach in Austin Peay State University softball history, Kassie Stanfill, returned to Clarksville for her seventh season after being named the 10th head coach in program history, August 2018. Throughout her tenure in Clarksville, Stanfill has a 154-128 record, has guided the Governors to the postseason in all full, (non COVID-affected) seasons, and has led 20 student-athletes to being an All-Conference selection.
Her coaching also helped pitcher Morgan Rackel (2018-19) be selected into the 2025 Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame in February. Stanfill has at least 23 wins across each full season in Clarksville with two 30-win campaigns (2019, 2022).
A Preseason All-ASUN selection after being tabbed a First Team All-ASUN selection at first base and a Third Team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Central Team recipient following her junior season, senior utility Kylie Campbell has started all 161 games she has appeared throughout her four-year career in the Red & White.
The Ninety Six, South Carolina native tallied one hit against Florida A&M (February 9th), which moved her into a tie with Jane Goodson (1986-89) for 10th all-time. Up next on the list is Leigh Pettyjohn’s (1987-90) 180-career hits.
The Govs’ top-returning power hitter from a season ago, Brie Howard led Austin Peay State University with eight home runs, a .563 slugging percentage, .452 on-base percentage, and 1.015 OPS, earning her Third Team All-ASUN and ASUN All-Freshman Team honors in 2024. During her freshman season, Howard was hit a program-record 19 times which alone put her fourth all-time for a career.
This season, Howard already has been hit by a pitch twice through five games, moving her to third all-time and just 10 more bruises away from second place on the all-time list alongside Shelby Norton (2010-13). Howard also leads the Govs with four runs following the opening weekend.
A transfer from North Carolina State where she spent her freshman campaign in 2024, Katie Raper already has made the most of her opportunities as a Governor, pacing the team with two home runs – including her first-career grand slam – against Saint Joseph’s (February 8th) at Mercer’s Heart of Georgia Classic. Raper’s grand slamami against the Hawks was the first since Gabi Apiag – who currently is the Director of Player Development – hit one against Murray State last season (3/29/23).
While Raper’s 4-RBI homer was the first in nearly 11 months, it took less than 24 hours for the next one, as Kiley Hinton brought in a quartet of Govs in Austin Peay State University’s 9-2 victory against Florida A&M (February 9th) in last weekend’s tournament finale. The home run was the third of her career and helped her pace a career-high four RBI in the win against the Rattlers. It also marked the first time the Governors had a grand slam in back-to-back games in program history.
Junior infielder Sammie Shelander began her collegiate career at Abilene Christian in her home state of Texas, where she started 98-of-99 games and tallied 89 hits across two seasons for the Wildcats.
Gabi Apiag transitioning to a coaching role and Mea Clark graduating in May opened up the shortstop and catcher positions, respectively. Head coach Kassie Stanfill filled both roles by looking inside the conference and grabbing Florida Gulf Coast’s Kayleigh Roper and Sam Leski. In her first game as a Gov, Roper walked off Florida A&M with a two-run homer in the season opener, while Leski has started all five games behind the dish.
After being primarily used as a pinch runner throughout much of her career in Clarksville, outfielder Raylon Roach has started all five games for APSU this season – already just one off her career high in starts, set last season – as a designated player. Roach tallied a hit in each of APSU’s first two games of the season and two against Mercer and Saint Joseph’s (February 8th). Roach’s team-best six hits already are a career high.
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Next Up For APSU Softball
The Austin Peay State University softball heads east for the Furman Classic, February 21st-23rd at Pepsi Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina. There, they’ll face Holy Cross (Game 1), host Furman (Game 2), Northern Iowa (Games 3 and 5) and Morehead State (Game 4).
