LEADING OFF

• Seeking to build on its first road win of 2023, Austin Peay's baseball team returns to Evansville to meet Purdue Fort Wayne in a four-game series, Friday-Saturday, at German American Bank Field on the University of Evansville campus. The Govs and Mastodons will play two doubleheaders, beginning at 1 p.m. each day.
• The Governors saw their season-long nine-game road trip, which was scheduled to end with the Oklahoma State series, extended after severe weather on March 3 damaged the fencing on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
• Austin Peay oversaw a revamp with head coach Roland Fanning hired in May. Along with a new staff, his hiring sparked a near-complete flip of the Governors' roster. The Govs' 2023 lineup includes 27 transfers – the most of any Division I program – with 17 transfers coming from a previous Division I roster..

BROADCAST INFORMATION

ipTV: Not Available.
RADIO: ESPN Clarksville (104.1 FM or via the TuneIn Radio App)
    TALENT: Van Stokes (PxP)
LIVE STATS: PeayStats.com

SERIES HISTORY

The Series: First Meeting.
Notably: This weekend's meeting with the Mastodons will be the first in program history for the Govs. Austin Peay has a 34-15-1 record against current Horizon League members with previous meetings against Milwaukee (17-4), Wright State (11-10-1), and Youngstown State (6-1).

CLIMBING THE HILL

• Nick James looks to bounce back from his toughest outing as a Governor. In his first start as the Govs' No. 1, he battled through a three-plus inning outing against No. 12 Oklahoma State. James allowed 11 runs on 11 hits, both season highs, while striking out a season low three batters.
• James can look to teammate Lyle Miller-Green on how to bounce back. The Govs two-way man put together a masterful performance in Stillwater, holding the Cowboys to two unearned runs on four hits in 5.2 innings. Miller-Green, who tied the longest outing by a Govs' starter this season, also struck out a season-best five batters.
• Working on four days rest, Jacob Kush pieced together his third three-inning outing of 2023 in the OSU series finale. He struck out a season-best seven batters but battled through an outing that saw him allow five runs on four hits and five walks.

FIRST HACKS

• Utility man Matt Aribal closed the Oklahoma State series with hits in each of the final two games. He also walked and scored the Govs' lone run in Saturday's 2-1 loss.
• Outfielder Harrison Brown pieced together his second career four-hit day at Southern Indiana, Tuesday. He hit his first home run of 2023 in the barrage, along with three singles.
• Infielder Jaden Brown moved into the leadoff spot Tuesday at Southern Indiana and was 1-for-6, reached on an error twice, stole a base, and scored twice. He brings a three-game hit streak into the weekend.
• Catcher Trevor Conley extended his hit streak to four games Tuesday with a second-inning RBI double in a 1-for-4 outing at Southern Indiana. He also had a hit in all three games of the Oklahoma State series, going 4-for-10 in Stillwater.
• Infielder Gus Freeman made the most of his first at-bat as a Governor, hitting a solo home run in Game 1 of the Oklahoma State series. He walked twice in an 0-for-3 outing at USI, with one walk pushing in a run. Freeman also stole two bases and scored once against the Screaming Eagles.
• Infielder Jon Jon Gazdar went 3-for-5 with two RBI at Southern Indiana – his first three-hit day as a Governor. He extended his hit streak to three games and is batting 6-for-13 (.462) during the streak.
• Center fielder Clayton Gray's closed the OSU weekend with back-to-back two-hit performances and was 4-for-11 on the weekend. Including his 3-for-5 effort against Vanderbilt, he had an impressive 7-for-16 (.438) week against Top 25 teams.
• Right fielder Garrett Martin snapped a three-game hitless streak with a second-inning single at Southern Indiana. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored against USI.
• Designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green extended his hit streak to six games with a 1-for-5, RBI outing at USI. He went 6-for-12 (.500) during the Govs four games against Top 25 teams last week. Miller-Green is batting .412 during his current hitting streak.
• Third baseman Ambren Voitik wrapped up his stay in Stillwater with a 2-for-4 performance that included a leadoff single to start the game and ignite a four-run inning. He followed that with a 1-for-6 outing at USI, Tuesday.

NEXT UP FOR APSU

Austin Peay's road trip will hit the 13-game mark after the site for Tuesday's game against Western Kentucky was moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. The Govs and Hilltoppers agreed to flip the sites of their home-and-home series this season with Austin Peay now hosting WKU on April 25.

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