CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – As the 2022 regular season winds down, Austin Peay's baseball team will host Western Kentucky in a 6 p.m., Tuesday contest on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park in the season's final nonconference tilt.

 Both the Governors and Hilltoppers enter the midweek outing after picking up conference series victories, last weekend. Austin Peay won its first series in nearly a month as it defeated Murray State, 2-1. The Govs pitching staff posted a 4.00 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 27 innings against the Racers. WKU won a home Conference USA set against UAB, 2-1. The Hilltoppers pitching staff recorded a 4.33 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 27 innings against the Blazers.

Shortstop John Bolton made the most of the weekend series against Murray State, batting .556 with three doubles, three RBI and three stolen bases. Center fielder TJ Foreman continued his last season push with four hits, a double and four RBI against Murray State.

Left fielder Matthew Meyer paced WKU's offense against UAB with two hits in each game of the series to finish the weekend batting .545 with a home run and five RBI. Second baseman Tristan Garcia batted .385 with two doubles during the weekend.

NEW TO THE HAND

Austin Peay's athletics department made two major changes to improve the fan experience this spring at Raymond C. Hand Park. First, new netting was installed that extends from dugout to dugout and is 30 feet high to protect the seating area and hillsides behind both dugouts. Fans are reminded foul balls may still enter the seating area but the new netting should provide a safer experience.

In addition, new chairback seating was installed behind home plate. The new reserved seating area provides additional seating space for fans along with cup holders for their ice-cold Coca-Cola products.

TICKET INFORMATION

Single-game tickets are still available for remaining 13 games on the home slate. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance by visiting LetsGoPeay.com/BuyTickets or by calling the APSU Athletics Ticket Office at 931-221-PEAY (7329). The ticket window at Raymond C. Hand Park opens one hour prior to first pitch each day.

FOLLOW THE GOVS

Tuesday's game is available on ESPN+ with Brian Rives providing the play-by-play and Alex Gould sitting in as the game analyst with the broadcast simulcast on ESPN Radio Clarksville (104.1 FM) and available on the TuneIn app. Fans wishing to follow along more discreetly may visit PeayStats.com for live scoring through the series or get important game updates on Twitter by following @GovsBSB.

THROUGH THE LINEUP

• After maintaining a break-neck pace over the first 32 games, catcher Jack Alexander has seen his pace slow over the past 15 outings. He ended April 9 batting .417 after a 3-for-5, 4 RBI outing at UT Martin. Since then, he has 12 hits in 15 games.
• John McDonald returned to the lineup April 15 and batted .450 (9-20) in his first seven games, pushing his average to .333 – a 45-point improvement. He also is battling through a rough spot with 3 hits in his last 7 games.
• Ty DeLancey saw his an 12-game hit streak – tied for longest by a Gov this season – end in Game 2 at Toledo. He is batting .318 (21-66) with 20 RBI in 17 games since April 9, including a team-best 6 RBI during the Toledo set. After starting at third base in the Toledo series finale, he started at second base in all three games of the Murray State set.
• Beginning with his 4-for-4 outing against Eastern Kentucky, March 13, utility man Gino Avros is batting .346 (45-130) with 23 RBI and 15 doubles – taking the team lead in doubles (22).
• Shortstop John Bolton has a hit in 20 of the 26 games since the start of OVC play, including 10 multi-hit outings. He is batting .330 (30-91) with 11 doubles, and 10 RBI in that span.
• Third baseman Michael Robinson went 3-for-5 with 7 RBI in Game 2 of the SIUE series, the first 7-RBI outing by a Governor since Parker Phillips had 7 RBI against Eastern Kentucky during the 2018 season.
• Outfielder Harrison Brown notched his first career 4-hit day in the SIUE series finale, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI. He led the Govs with a .394 batting average (26-66) in April with 13 RBI.
• Outfielder TJ Foreman has a hit in 13 of the 14 games since his return to the lineup, April 15. He is batting .460 (23-50) with 4 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 15 runs scored since his return.
• Outfielder Jeremy Wagner started all three games in right field against Murray State – his first starts since the UT Martin series (May 8-10).

POSTSEASON TALK

• Austin Peay clinched a spot in the eight-team 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship with its Friday victory against Murray State.
• The Govs enter the weekend tied for fifth with SIUE and would be the No. 6 seed in the tournament due to losing the series against the Cougars.
• With six games remaining, Austin Peay is just one game behind co-third place holders Eastern Illinois and Morehead State. EIU has to face co-leaders Belmont and Southeast Missouri in its final two weekends. Morehead State has SIUE and Austin Peay in its final two weekends.

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