Clarksville, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's softball team will head down to the gulf coast for the second time in as many weeks, this Friday through Sunday, as it faces McNeese State and Lamar.
The Govs (5-5) will open the weekend in Lake Charles, La., with a three-game series versus McNeese beginning with a 6 p.m., Friday, single-game followed by a noon Saturday doubleheader.
Austin Peay will close out the weekend road swing with its first-ever trip into the Lone Star State, Sunday, traveling to Beaumont, Texas for a 2 p.m. contest with Lamar.
After two weekends of play and 10 games, the Govs have five players batting over .300, led by Kelsey Gross (.455, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Carly Mattson (.448, 5 2B, 10 RBI), with Emily Moore (.333, 1 HR, 8 RBI), Kacy Acree (.323, 2 HR, 11 RBI), and Morgan Rackel (.304, 1 HR, 6 RBI) rounding out the quintet.
In the circle, Rackel has been the workhorse of the Govs staff posting a 3-3 overall record with a 3.73 ERA in 30 innings pitched, while striking out 35. She also recorded her second career no-hitter this past Sunday, in a 1-0 victory versus Jackson State.
Gross and Kelly Mardones have also recorded wins for the Govs this season, with Gross currently at 1-1, with a 1.87 ERA and 10 strikeouts, while Mardones is 1-1, with a 6.07 ERA and seven K's.
Scouting the opponents
McNeese
The Cowgirls enter the three-game series sporting a 6-6 record, after dropping a 7-2 home decision to Houston on Wednesday night. Offensively, McNeese is led by Justyce McClain who is hitting at a .436 clip, with a triple, a home run and three runs driven in, while Demi Boudreaux is batting .325, with six doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI. In the circle, Alexsandra Flores tops the Cowgirls pitching staff with a 4-2 record and 17 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched.
Lamar
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 3-8 record after going 2-3 last weekend at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational and are led at the plate by Taylor Davis, who is currently hitting at a .375 clip with four RBI. In the circle, Jade Lewis leads Lamar with a 2-4 record, a 4.59 ERA and eight strikeouts in 29 innings of work.
Governors Hit and Run
·      The game versus Lamar is the first-ever meeting between the Govs and Cardinals.
·      Austin Peay and McNeese have played twice before, splitting a pair of games at the Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, Ala., during the season-opening weekend of the 2014 season.
·      Austin Peay's three-game series at McNeese is the first regular season three-game series for the Govs since March 18-19, 2017 at Lipscomb.
·      Both McNeese and Lamar are members of the Southland Conference.
·      The Govs contest in the State of Texas versus Lamar marks the 15th state Austin Peay's softball team has played in during the program's 34-year history.
