Athletics | July 16, 2014

After winning three straight Ohio Valley Conference baseball championships, the Govs had a lot of holes to fill when a school-record five players were picked in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

A new crop of potential stars showed up this season and shined right off the bat. After a program-record five newcomers – Alex Robles, Dre Gleason, Logan Gray, Cayce Bredlau and Ridge Smith – earned Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American honors, the future looks bright for the Bat Govs.

Robles added to his accolades with a Louisville Slugger honor. The Tucson, Arizona native was the OVC Rookie of the Year and earned freshman All-American honors from the NCBWA and Baseball America after hitting a team-high .349 with 39 RBI and going 6-2 with a 3.63 ERA as the Govs' Friday starter.

Gleason, of O'Fallon, Missouri, became the Govs everyday first baseman during his first year with the team, appearing in 52 games and making 49 starts. He batted .261 during the season with nine doubles, four home runs and 29 RBI. All four of his home runs came in Ohio Valley Conference action where he batted .276 while starting all 30 games of the league slate at first base.

Gray, of Leawood, Kansas, batted .249 during his freshman campaign with the Govs but saw 22 of his 43 hits go for extra bases – 15 doubles, a triple and six home runs. His six home runs were second most on the team and his 36 RBI were fourth-most among the Govs. In conference play, he had eight doubles, four home runs, 22 RBI and batted .248 while appearing in 29 league outings.

Bredlau, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was a member of the OVC's All-Freshman team. After failing to record a hit in his first 10 at-bats he finished his rookie campaign with a .331 batting average that was second best on the team. The bulk of Bredlau's damage came in OVC action where he led the Govs in both batting average (.371) and on-base percentage (.468) during the 30-game campaign.

Smith, of Memphis, Tennessee, became the third Austin Peay freshman to earn first-team All-OVC honors since 2000. He made 55 starts at four different positions – left field, third base, catcher and designated hitter. Smith finished the season batting .310 with 15 doubles, six home runs and a team-best 44 RBI. Defensively, he finished the season with nine outfield assists, ranking fourth nationally in that category at regular season's end.

Previous 2013-14 Top 10 Items:
July 7 - Stansfield and Siliva earn Academic All-American honors
July 8 - Henderson earns USA Volleyball tryout
July 9 - Branding ushers APSU into new era
July 10 - APSU quartet leave mark
July 11 - Robles shines all over the diamond
July 14 - Iten's Historic Season
July 15 - APSU track races to the top