Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team continues its nine-game road stretch with more Atlantic Sun Conference action against Central Arkansas, beginning with game one of the three-game weekend series, starting on Friday at 6:00pm at Bear Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.
Leading Off
The Governors (12-13, 3-3 ASUN) are set to face the Bears (13-12, 3-3 ASUN) for week three of ASUN play. Central Arkansas is .500 through the first two weeks of ASUN games after taking two of three from Bellarmine at home a week ago. Their most recent game was at No. 4 Arkansas, where they were run-ruled 15-2 in seven innings.
Central Arkansas comes into the weekend with a winning record at home, as they enter Friday 9-4 at Bear Stadium this season. The Governors look to flip the script on the road, as they are 7-9 away from Stacheville so far this year.
Central Arkansas is led by head coach Nick Harlan, who is in his 16th season and fifth with the Bears. He comes into the weekend with a 106-137 record at UCA.
The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the ASUN Gold Division preseason coaches poll with 18 points and one first-place vote.
The Governors came out of week two of Atlantic Sun Conference play with a win and a pair of losses at home against Lipscomb, who were picked preseason to finish second in the ASUN Gold Division. Austin Peay fell short in its conference home opener, losing game one to the Bisons. They answered back by winning game two in a Saturday slugfest before falling in game three by run rule.
Senior Zion Taylor and redshirt sophomore Cole Johnson led the Governors offensively, as they both landed on the D1Baseball.com Week 6 Top Performers list. The pair combined for nine extra-base hits, including six home runs.
Pitching Probables
Junior right-hander Cody Airington is slated to start game one on the hill. His last appearance was in the series opener against Lipscomb (March 20th) a week ago, where he went just 2.2 innings and struck out five in the no-decision. He is matched up against Central Arkansas’ Patrick Fernandez, who comes into the weekend with a 1-2 record and a 6.75 ERA with 26 strikeouts across six starts and 28 innings of work.
Senior Kade Shatwell is the projected starter for game two, as he is slated to make his first appearance since the Governors played at Utah Tech (March 7th). He went six innings and struck out three batters, allowing just two runs to score. Denver Hamilton will be matched up against him, who has made four starts this season in five appearances, and has a 3-0 record. He has struck out 13 batters across 21.1 innings this season.
The starting pitchers for game three have not been announced for either team.
Series History
Austin Peay State University leads the all-time series 9-4 against Central Arkansas. The series dates back to February 18th, 2007, when the Governors won 10-2 in Clarksville. The last time Central Arkansas beat Austin Peay was on May 10th, 2025, when the Bears won 11-7 in Clarksville.
The last meeting between the two squads was the day after, on May 11th, when the Governors run-ruled the Bears 14-4 in eight innings.
Broadcast Information
The series will not be televised.
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 and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
