Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team carries a seven-game win streak at home after sweeping the last two series. They look to continue their success against a new opponent, St. Thomas, in a four-game weekend series at home starting Friday, March 7th, at 4:00pm CT at Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Sunday’s series finale will now be played at 12:00pm CT instead of the originally scheduled time of 1:00pm CT.
Leading Off
The Austin Peay State University baseball team returns to the field after sweeping Eastern Illinois at home last weekend. It was the first time the Govs have swept back-to-back three-game weekend series since the 2013 championship team. APSU outscored EIU 26-11 over their three games and had their second comeback win of the season in game two of the series after trailing 3-4 after seven innings.
The APSU Govs will square off against the St. Thomas Tommies, who just had two players, Zak Endres and Joe Roder, named Co-Pitcher of the Week and Player of the Week
Governors Bullpen
The Governors as a team last weekend had a combined 3.33 ERA, and on the year, they have a 4.72. Cody Airington led the charge for the pitching staff, throwing six innings and allowing just two earned runs. It was his second straight quality start of the season. The relief arms also made a statement by allowing just one earned run over 8.2 innings, striking out nine batters and walking just two.
First Hacks
The Governors last weekend hit for a combined average of .295 with an on-base percentage of .407 and a slugging of .537. They had 28 hits as a team, with half of those (14) being for extra bases.
Austin Peay State University center fielder John Bay is batting a team-leading .381 on the season and comes into the weekend series reaching base safely in all 12 games this year. In the series against Eastern Illinois, he batted .333 (3-for-9) with a double, four walks, an RBI, and a hit-by-pitch.
First baseman/catcher Gus Freeman has started every game at first for the Govs so far this season. He bats .368 coming into this weekend’s series. Last weekend against EIU, he went 4-for-8 with a homer, three doubles, and six RBI. He had an OBP of .692 after walking four times and being hit by a pitch.
APSU infielder Andres Matias added two hits to his total on the season after going 2-for-6 against EIU with a walk and scoring twice.
Outfielder Cameron Nickens was named ASUN Player of the Week after a strong performance last week. Over five games, he batted .526 (10-for-19) with three home runs and 10 RBI. He had a 4-for-4 day against EIU (February 28th), with a home run, two doubles, and five RBI. His four hits and five RBI set new single-game bests while matching his previous best for doubles in a game. In the EIU series, he went 8-for-13 (.615) with two homers, two doubles, and six RBI. He is the first Governor of 2025 to earn this honor.
Infielder Kyler Proctor has been the starting second baseman for Austin Peay State University in every game this season. He improved his batting average from the previous weekend, from .276 to .325. In the EIU series, he went 5-for-11 (.455) with a home run, a double, and three RBI. His home run in game one of the series was a lead-off homer and was the first of his career.
Outfielder Nathan Barksdale has started in six of the 10 games he has played in this season. He has reached safely in his last six games, which is the longest streak of his career. He has shared time with DJ Merriweather out in right field, who has started four games in right this season. It will be a toss-up of who will have the start in each game this weekend and will most likely come down to a matchup decision.
Infielder/designated hitter Cole Johnson was on a hot streak at the plate coming into the EIU series with a five-game hitting streak. He extended it to six games in the first game of the series, going 1-for-4, but went hitless the remainder of the series. He comes into the weekend batting .278 with a pair of doubles, a home run, and eight RBI.
ASUN Standings
Austin Peay State University currently leads the Atlantic Sun standings in the Gold Division with an 8-4 overall record. Central Arkansas trails with a 4-6 record while on a two-game losing streak.
West Georgia currently leads the Graphite Division with a 7-4 overall record. Stetson and North Florida follow with 7-5 and 7-6 records, respectively. Stetson, however, is on a three-game win streak and is hunting UWG down for the top spot in their division.
Facing The Tommies
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first time that Austin Peay State University and St. Thomas’ baseball teams have met face-to-face. The Tommies finished the 2024 season with a 22-24 overall record and went 16-10 in conference play to finish first in the Summit League and win their first title in the Division I era.
COACH OLEAN
Head coach Chris Olean is in his 16th season at St. Thomas and holds a 390-238-1 career record with the Tommies.
Olean has done an impressive job improving his team after two losing seasons at the beginning of its Division I era and winning the Summit League title last year.
- 3-time NCAA Division III Region Coach of the Year (2012, 2013, 2021).
- 3-time MIAC Coach of The Year (2012, 2013, 2021).
- Has produced seven D-III All-American pitchers.
PRESEASON POLL
The Tommies were picked second in the Summit League preseason poll with one first-place vote, behind Oral Roberts with three first-place votes.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brigs Richartz is one of two players on the Tommies’ roster this season to be listed on the Players to Watch list. He started in all 46 games last season and was named to the 2024 All-Summit League first team after leading UST with 63 hits and 13 doubles and finishing the year batting .337.
Evan Esch was the other Tommie to make the list. The left-handed pitcher appeared nine times last season, starting eight of those games. He was named to the 2024 All-Summit League second team after striking out 35 batters over 32.1 innings of work in conference play. He posted a 4-1 record in six starts and had a 5-2 overall record, which tied for third-most wins among the UST pitching staff.
About the St. Thomas Tommies
AT THE PLATE
The UST offense is currently hitting .350, with 68 runs scored on 105 hits coming into the weekend.
The Tommies have an on-base percentage of .428 and a slugging percentage of .490. They have six homers, 20 doubles, and two triples on the season.
ON THE MOUND
The Tommies have a team ERA of 7.12, and no individual starter has an ERA of 5.00 or below.
Zak Endres has been the most effective on the hill, throwing 9.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. He has a 1.86 ERA on two runs, nine hits and two walks. He currently leads the team in wins (2).
SUMMIT LEAGUE RANKINGS
St. Thomas currently leads the Summit League standings with a 5-3 record coming into the weekend. Oral Roberts is the only other team with a winning record in the conference. They have a 6-4 record over Northern Colorado, which has a 5-7 record.
Promotional Weekend
This weekend, we celebrate our Clarksville Superheroes all weekend long. Kids have free admission all weekend with an adult ticket.
March 7th – Family Friday: Be sure to come out to Raymond C. Hand Park on Friday for Family Friday! Kids receive baseball posters, participate in competitions throughout the game, and can run the bases under the lights after the game. Kids also have a chance to throw out the first pitch!
March 8th – Swag Saturday/International Women’s Day: Come by the marketing table to receive your free APSU swag. We will also celebrate our first responders; you can receive a free first responder-inspired water bottle.
March 9th – Superhero Day: To celebrate and show support for Clarksville’s first responders, come by the marketing table to make your very own superhero cape, write a thank you note to a first responder, and celebrate our women leaders!
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.com.
Broadcast Information
All games will be streamed on ESPN+. Barry Gresham will have the call on Friday and Saturday, with Alex Gould rounding out the series on Sunday.
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.
