AUSTIN PEAY (18-28, 10-11 OVC)
vs. MOREHEAD STATE (23-21, 11-10 OVC)
Week 12 | Games 47-49
Fri.-Sun., May 2-4
Allen Field
Morehead, KY

CATCH THE GOVS
Radio: WVRY 105.1 FM
Talent: Van Stokes, play-by-play
Online Audio: www.iHigh.com
Live Statistics: www.LetsGoPeay.com
Twitter: @APSUBaseball

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

LEADING OFF
Another week, another chance for Austin Peay's baseball team to move up the Ohio Valley Conference ladder. The Govs, who are tied for sixth in the OVC race, will face fourth-place Morehead State in a three-game series at Allen Field. The series kicks off with a 5 p.m. (CT), Friday contest followed by a 1 p.m., Saturday affair and a noon, Sunday finale. Austin Peay enters the weekend with a three-game losing streak in hand, its longest losing streak since the start of April. Morehead State won the final game of its OVC series at SIU Edwardsville, last Sunday, to snap its own three-game losing streak.

FIRST HACKS
Austin Peay has not won three consecutive games this season, posting an 0-7 mark when it has back-to-back wins in hand… In OVC weekends the Govs are 5-2 in Game 1, 4-3 in Game 2 and 1-6 in Game 3… The Govs are 12-15 at Raymond C. Hand Park this season with 3 home games remaining… APSU is 6-13 away from the friendly confines, winning 5 of their last 9… Two-way man Alex Robles (3B/P) ranks 13th among all OVC hitters and leads all freshmen with a .343 average; he has a 5-2 record and 3.28 ERA on the mound, ranking 5th in wins and 8th in ERA among OVC hurlers (and 1st among freshmen in both categories)… Utility man Ridge Smith saw his 5-game hit streak halted, Wednesday, at Middle Tennessee; he batted .550 (11-for-20) during the streak… Outfielder Cayce Bredlau leads APSU with a .364 batting average and .484 on-base percentage during OVC play… Since moving into the leadoff spot April 19 at Belmont, second baseman Garrett Copeland has posted a .441 on-base percentage (nearly 100 points higher than his season OBP)… Outfielder Rolando Gautier brings a six-game hit streak into the weekend; he is batting .454 (10-for-22) during the streak and has driven his average up 25 points to .300… Shortstop Logan Gray batted .349 during the month of April (second only to Gautier's .377 average) and committed just 5 errors in 18 games played… APSU has seen 7 freshmen start at least half of its games this season (tied for most in Division I) and 8 have taken an at-bat this year… Those freshmen have combined to hit .269 (274-for-1018) and drive in 165 of the team's 241 RBI… The Govs defense has battled inconsistency with 89 errors this season (.950 fielding percentage), but its 9 errorless outings have come the 29 games since a March 15 outing against Eastern Illinois (.963 fielding percentage in that span)… Head coach Gary McClure is one of 28 active Division I coaches with 800 wins and he is APSU and the OVC's all-time wins leader… This season, Austin Peay was picked to finish 2nd in the OVC's preseason poll behind Tennessee Tech… The Govs did not have a player selected to the preseason All-OVC squad; only senior catcher P.J. Torres returns after receiving All-OVC honors (2nd team) last season.

FIRST PITCH
Austin Peay will field the same starting rotation for the third consecutive week… Right-hander Alex Robles has been a member of the weekend rotation each week of the campaign and is 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA in his 11 starts… He has struck out 22 batters in his last two starts (16 innings pitched)… Robles is 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 7 OVC starts… Right-hander Jared Carkuff is scheduled to make his fourth-straight OVC outing… He picked up his first OVC win at Belmont, April 18, after allowing 1 run in 6 innings… Carkuff is 1-0 with a 6.46 ERA in his 3 previous starts… Left-hander Alex Belew joined the weekend rotation at Belmont and will make his third straight start as the Govs No. 3… After 4.1 scoreless innings at Belmont, April 19, he surrendered 7 runs in 4.1 innings against Eastern Kentucky, last Sunday… Belew is 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA in OVC starts.