NASHVILLE – Second baseman Garrett Giovannelli had a pair of run-scoring doubles and starting pitcher Jacques Pucheu went seven innings as Austin Peay State University's baseball team downed Belmont, 5-2, Saturday in Ohio Valley Conference action at E.S. Rose Park.

Austin Peay (18-13, 9-5 OVC) got on the board first, striking for three runs in the third inning. Giovannelli supplied the first run with a double inside the third-base bag to drive in center field Imani Willis. Shortstop Garaett Kueber and right fielder Nick Walker also drove in runs, Walker doing so with a triple to wrap up the scoring.

Belmont (12-18, 7-7 OVC) threatened in the fourth after back-to-back batters reached base against Pucheu. Catcher Austin Reynolds drove in a run with a single to left, cutting the deficit to 3-1. The Bruins would get two runners in scoring position after a double steal, but Pucheu struck out a batter to end the inning.

Pucheu (4-1) would retire the next seven to hold the lead and the Govs would add two more runs to support their starter in the seventh. Giovannelli drove in a run in that seventh with a double and then scored on Nick Walker's single, giving the Govs a 5-1 lead.

Pucheu would surrender another run in the seventh after Belmont opened the inning with back-to-back base hits. However, he would secure his season's fourth win with a seven-inning outing that saw him strike out six. Brett Newberg entered the game in the eighth and allowed just two hits to record his season's third save.

Giovannelli went 2-for-5 with two RBI to pace the Govs offense, extending his reached base safely streak to 37 games. Walker went 2-for-4 and also supplied two RBI.

Belmont starter Connor Etheridge (2-3) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 6.2 innings, despite striking out nine batters. Reynolds led the Bruins offense with a 3-for-4 outing that included his RBI single in the fourth.

Austin Peay and Belmont conclude their three-game OVC set with a 1 p.m., Sunday contest at E.S. Rose Park.