Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team looks to continue its success at home against Eastern Illinois in a three-game weekend series starting Friday, February 28th, at 4:00pm (CT) at Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Leading Off
The Governors come back home after a midweek matchup at Middle Tennessee State, where the Governors fell 9-10. The bats got hot in the final inning, where they rallied for three runs on two outs, but ultimately was not enough to overcome the Blue Raiders.
Austin Peay State University used seven arms to get through the midweek but has a full set of fresh arms after a long rest following the four-game sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend.
First Hacks
Austin Peay State University center fielder John Bay is batting .394 on the season and comes into the weekend series reaching base safely in all nine games this year. In the series against Purdue Fort Wayne, he batted .545 (6-for-11) with four doubles, a triple, a home run, and seven walks.
First baseman/catcher Gus Freeman has started all nine games at first for the Govs so far this season. He bats .333 coming into this weekend’s series. Last weekend against PFW, he went 4-for-12 with a homer and four RBI. He had an OBP of .556 after walking and being hit by pitches three times each.
APSU infielder Andres Matias was hitless against MTSU in the Govs midweek on Tuesday. He is batting .200 on the season with a homer and one RBI.
Outfielder Cameron Nickens is batting sub-.300 this year but has shown consistency at the plate. He has recorded a hit in all but one game this year and has reached base safely in every game. He has had an extra-base hit in each of the last three games with five RBI. He currently leads the Governors in home runs (4) and RBI (9).
Infielder Kyler Proctor has been the starting second baseman for the Governors in every game this season. He bats .276 coming into the weekend series with a double, six RBI, and three stolen bases on the year.
Austin Peay State University outfielder Nathan Barksdale has started in five of the seven games he has played in this season. He has a career-best two-game hit streak coming into the weekend series and can be expected to be the starting right fielder come Friday.
Infielder Austen Jaslove has been the everyday shortstop for the Govs this year, starting all nine games up the middle. He is batting .258 with three doubles, a triple, and seven RBI.Infielder Cole Johnson has been an effective run producer at the plate for the govs this season. He carries a five-game hit streak coming into the weekend and has driven in a run in three of those games. Two of which were multi-RBI games. He led the offense last weekend against PFW batting .615 (8-for-13) with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI. He is currently batting .360 with an on-base percentage of .448.
APSU utility player DJ Merriweather has seen two starts in the outfield for the Governors this season. Although being hitless in his six at-bats, he has an OBP of .400 after walking and being hit by a pitch both twice.
About the Eastern Illinois Panthers
SERIES HISTORY
Austin Peay State University leads the all-time series against Eastern Illinois, 47-36. The Governors have a 26-19 record at home against the Panthers and have a one-game win streak after winning one of three games in their last meeting at home in 2022. They won by a score of 8-4 in the series finale (4/16/22)
PRESEASON POLL
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish fifth in the OVC preseason coaches poll, finishing behind Southeast Missouri, Little Rock, Tennessee Tech, and Morehead State.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Tyler Conklin was named EIU’s OVC Player to Watch for the 2025 season. Last year, he started three games on the mound for the Panthers, striking out 12 batters over 15.0 innings before a season-ending injury.
So far this season, Conklin has a 1-1 record after starting two games. He has thrown 13.0 innings and has picked up nine strikeouts and allowing seven runs, six earned, on 11 hits and two walks.
Scouting The Panthers
AT THE PLATE
The EIU offense is currently hitting .222, with 29 runs scored on 44 hits coming into the weekend.
The Panthers have an on-base percentage of .345 and a slugging percentage of .283. They have two homers and six doubles on the season.
ON THE MOUND
The Panthers have a team ERA of 5.12; no individual starter has below a 3.00 ERA.
Tyler Kapraun has been the most effective on the hill, throwing 11.1 innings with four strikeouts. He has a 3.18 ERA on four runs, 12 hits and four walks.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.com.
Broadcast Information
All games will be streamed on ESPN+. Alex Gould will have the call for every game this weekend.
Follow Along
Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay State University Athletics – www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
