Nashville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team set the single-season record for total wins before postseason play after completing the series sweep over Lipscomb, Saturday, at Ken Dugan Field.
How it Happened
Top 2nd | Austin Peay State University put up a five-spot early in the contest, giving them a comfortable lead over the Bisons to begin the game. Cole Johnson led the inning with a four-pitch walk, and Ray Velazquez followed with a five-pitch walk. Andres Matias was then hit by a pitch to load the bases on three straight free passes. Nathan Barksdale came up to the plate next and delivered a two-RBI single to center field, bringing in Johnson and Velazquez for the game’s first runs.
Keaton Cottam then laid down a sacrifice bunt, but an error on the Lipscomb starting pitcher, Davis Rokose, allowed Cottam to reach base safely and load the bases. Kyler Proctor then hit a double-play ball to Brady Miller at second base, but Matias came in to score and extend the lead. Then, with one runner on base, John Bay hit his ASUN-leading 21st home run of the season to make the score 5-0.
Top 6th | Ray Velazquez began the sixth inning with a leadoff solo homer over the left center field fence after falling to a two-strike count. Matias and Barksdale continued the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. The safety squeeze play was then put on for Cottam at the plate, and he put one down the first base line to bring in Matias. Two batters later was Bay, and he hit his second home run of the game to bring across two more runs, extending the lead to 9-0.
Bottom 6th | Parks Bouck began the sixth with a leadoff four-pitch walk. David Coppedge also earned himself a walk, putting the first two batters of the inning on base for the Bisons. Kai Holm then flew out to deep center field, allowing Bouck to move over to third base. Ryan Austin then hit a single to Proctor at second base, which brought in Bouck for the Bisons’ first run, making the score 9-1.
Top 7th | The APSU Govs moved into the double-digits in the run column after a hit batter and a pair of walks to load the bases. Cottam drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the inning to bring in the Govs’ 10th run, making the score 10-1.
Bottom 7th | Davin Pollard began the bottom of the seventh on the mound for the APSU Govs. He was able to record two outs in the inning, but walked the bases loaded before Brody Lanham replaced him on the mound. Holm hit a bases-clearing double off the left center field wall to make the score 10-4.
Top 8th | After two strikeouts to begin the inning, APSU got two baserunners on base after a hit batter and a walk. Freeman, who was on second base, stole third to move up 90 feet. Velazquez then hit a high pop-up on the infield and fell in for a hit to bring in Freeman. Then, Matias hit a three-run homer to put the Govs up by 10 runs, extending the lead to 14-4.
Wrap Up
Kade Foulke picked up the win after throwing one inning in relief with a strikeout. He improved to 2-0 on the season while not allowing any runs to score on a pair of walks.
Rokose fell to 2-2 on the season after 1.2 innings in the start. He struck out a batter while allowing five earned runs to score on a pair of hits, four walks, and a hit batter.
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Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team heads to the Sunshine State for the 2025 ASUN Baseball Championship, where they will face the No. 4 seed from the Graphite Division, North Florida, starting on Tuesday at 11:30am CT at Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida.
