Conway, AR – The Austin Peay State University’s baseball team won game two of the series against Central Arkansas 12-9 after an offensive surge in the early innings Saturday at Bear Stadium.
Jacob Weaver made his sixth season start for the Govs, throwing three innings with four strikeouts, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks.
Gavin Braunecker had a stellar performance on the mound, earning the win after 5.1 innings of relief on the mound.
How it Happened
Top 1st | Austin Peay State University got off to a hot start in the first inning of the game, scoring three runs on five straight singles for the early lead. Kyler Proctor led off with an infield single to shortstop for the first runner of the game. John Bay then came up and hit a single to left field, but an error on Zeb Allen allowed Proctor to score all the way from first. Cameron Nickens followed with a backside single to right field, scoring Bay from second. Gus Freeman singled to right, allowing Nickens to move into scoring position at second. Then Cole Johnson delivered the final blow of the inning with a single through the left side of the infield to score Nickens and extend the lead to 3-0.
Bottom 1st | The Bears returned the favor by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Allen led the inning off with a double down the right field line. He would advance to second on the one-out walk by Bryce Cermenelli. Then Nathan Negre singled through the left side of the infield, scoring Allen for UCA’s first run of the game. Blaine French followed up with a single of his own up the middle to score Cermenelli and get the Bears within one run, 3-2.
Bottom 2nd | UCA would put up another two runs after a scoreless top half from the Govs. Keon Moseni drew a one-out walk after falling behind in the count, 0-2. He would move into scoring position on a wild pitch and then scored on another Allen double to left center, tying the game. Allen would steal third base and then score after a single to left by Cermenelli, giving the Bears the 3-4 lead.
Top 3rd | Nickens would spark the offense on a one-out single up the middle on a two-strike count. Freeman, who ranked sixth nationally in hit-by-pitches before the series opener, took one off his side for the 13th time this season. Johnson then ran out a hard ninety to reach on a fielders choice. With two runners on with two outs, Szako homered to the opposite field for his fifth home run of the season, giving the Govs the lead. Ray Velazquez doubled to right field and scored on an RBI single from Trevor Conley, extending the lead to 7-4.
Top 4th | The Govs would put up another four runs in the fourth inning, beginning with a leadoff walk from Andres Matias. With an out in the inning, Bay singled to left field to put runners at the corners. Nickens would then hit a hard one-hopper that got by Negre at shortstop, scoring Matias on the play. The next batter, Freeman, would then hit his sixth home run of the season to extend the lead again to a score of 11-4.
Top 9th | An insurance run was added to the Govs run total in the final inning of the contest. Freeman drew a full-count walk and then advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs in the inning, Szako singled up the middle to score Freeman for the 12-4 lead.
Bottom 9th | French led the inning with a double down the right field line and advanced to second on a four-pitch walk. Then, with an out in the inning, Casey Shipley hit a three-run homer to left center, bringing the Bears back to within five. After a handful more hits and a walk to load the bases, Negre would single through the left side of the infield to score two more runs. That would be the last punch UCA would make, bringing the score to 12-9.
Wrap Up
Gavin Braunecker picked up his fourth win of the season to improve to 4-0. He threw 5.1 innings in relief, five of which were scoreless. He allowed five runs on six hits and three walks while punching out three batters.
The UCA starter, Charlie Christensen, would get the loss to fall to 1-2 on the year. He threw four innings with a pair of strikeouts. He allowed 11 runs, 10 earned, on 12 hits and one walk.
Notables
Nickens: 3-for-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R.
Szako: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, R – Has hit four home runs in his last seven games.
Freeman: 2-for-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI, 2 R – Has hit three home runs in his last six games.
Braunecker: 5.1 IP, W, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K – Did not allow a run to score in first five innings of work and matched a career-high innings pitched in relief.
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Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team will wrap up the ASUN weekend series against Central Arkansas on Sunday starting at 11:00am CT at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.
