THE LEAD
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – First baseman Dre Gleason and third baseman Ridge Smith each hit grand slams to lead Austin Peay State University's baseball team to a 14-3 Ohio Valley Conference victory against SIUE, Friday night at the Simmons Baseball Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Austin Peay's first two home runs were both solo shots. Right fielder Chase Hamilton hitting a leadoff blast in the third and three innings later shortstop Clayton Smithson hit another leadoff home run to give APSU a 4-1 lead.
SIUE closed to within a run, 4-3, with left fielder Jackson Layton's RBI single and a safety squeeze by catcher Kailer Smith.
Austin Peay broke the game open with four runs in the seventh – on Gleason's grand slam – and six runs in the eighth – courtesy Smith's grand slam and Smithson's two-run home run.
Robles held the Cougars to three runs over six innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen which supplied three scoreless innings to finish the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Austin Peay's five home-run outing was tied for fifth-most in program history and most since last season's March 29 contest against Tennessee Tech.
Smith and Hamilton (leadoff run in the third) each hit their 10th home run, joining left fielder Logan Gray (10) in double-digit home run territory. They are the first trio to hit the 10-home run mark since 1999 (Pat O'Sullivan [17], Joe Lancaster [11] and Aaron Hempel [10]).
Pitcher Alex Robles notched his ninth victory this season, the most by a Govs pitcher since Casey Delgado's nine-win campaign in both 2012 and 2013. The last Govs pitcher to record double-digits wins in a season was Shawn Kelley (11 in 2007).
Robles also equaled Rowdy Hardy's (2004-06) career OVC wins mark with his 18th career OVC victory. Both pitchers reached the mark in three seasons. It was Robles' 21st career win overall, moving him into sole possession of fourth-most career wins.
Redshirt freshman Josh Rye made his first appearance since March 2 at Kentucky – save an ill-fated warm up at Mercer, March 6 – and tossed a scoreless ninth, striking out two and allowing one hit.
THE FULL RECAP
Austin Peay (29-18, 19-9 OVC) saw its lead trimmed to 4-3 after SIUE scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning. The Govs would respond in the seventh when three successive batters reached base – two on singles and one on an error. Gleason came to the plate and worked to a full count before hitting a third 3-2 pitch well over the wall in right field for his second grand slam this season and a 8-3 APSU lead.
The Governors extended their lead in the eighth as the SIUE bullpen struggled to find the strike zone. Three of APSU's first four hitters in the inning walked to load the bases. Smith stepped up to the plate and drilled a 2-2 pitch out to straight-away center field for the Govs second grand slam of the inning and a 12-3 advantage.
Two batters later, shortstop Clayton Smithson set the final score with his two-run home run, his second home run of the game. It wrapped up a five-home run day for Austin Peay's offense, the five round-trippers accounting for 12 of its 14 runs.
The home run barrage helped APSU starting pitcher Alex Robles (9-4) pick up the win and tie the team's career OVC wins mark held by Rowdy Hardy (18, 2994-06). It was his ninth quality start this season, limiting SIUE to three runs (two earned) on five hits over six innings. Robles struck out seven of the 27 batters he faced.
Austin Peay's offense finished with 18 hits, each of the nine starters posting a hit. Smith led the way with a 3-for-4, four RBI outing. Center fielder Patrick Massoni went 3-for-5 with a RBI. Four other Govs, including Gleason and Smithson, had two hits each.
SIUE starter P.J. Shuster (1-6) was tagged for the loss after allowing three runs over five innings. The Cougars bullpen was tagged for 11 runs over the final four innings.
SIUE left fielder Jackson Layton went 2-for-4 with a RBI to lead an offensive effort that finished with three runs on six hits.
Austin Peay and SIUE continue their three-game league set with a 2 p.m., Saturday contest.
