CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team saw its bullpen toss five scoreless innings then the offense scored the game's final eight runs to secure an 8-5 ASUN Conference victory against Queens Sunday on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (19-18, 10-5 ASUN) swept the three-game series against Queens. The Govs also moved into a tie for third place at the halfway point of league play. Austin Peay is one-game behind co-leaders FGCU and Lipscomb, who await in the second half of APSU's ASUN schedule.
Queens (6-29, 2-13 ASUN) broke out to the early lead, scoring four runs in the third inning. The first three batters in the inning got on base. Second baseman JD Coleman's ground out got Queens on the scoreboard. An Austin Peay error provided a second run before shortstop Tyler Peters drove in a third run. Queens' fourth run came on another ground out.
The Governors would ultimately trail 5-0 after four innings before forging their comeback. Held to one hit through the first four innings, Austin Peay broke out for five consecutive hits to start the fifth. Catcher Trevor Conley's two-run home run – his first collegiate homer – got the Govs on the scoreboard. Designated hitter Lyle-Miller Green and center fielder Garrett Martin also drove in runs with their singles. Martin would later tie the game when he scored on a rundown on the basepaths.
Austin Peay's final breakthrough came in the eighth inning. Again, the first four batters reached base safely and Martin earned a bases-loaded walk to break the 5-5 tie. First baseman Harrison Brown provided an insurance run on a sacrifice fly, and second baseman Jaden Brown tacked on a second insurance run with a single.
Governors reliever Peyton Jula (2-2) closed the game with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. His outing capped five scoreless innings by the APSU bullpen: Kyle Magrans (2.0 innings), Zach Wyatt (0.2 innings), and Campbell Holt (1.0 innings).
Left fielder Clayton Gray, Miller-Green, Martin, and Harrison Brown each had two hits to pace the Govs' 11-hit output. Conley's two-run homer in a 1-for-3 outing was APSU's lone multi-RBI outing.
Queens' reliever Joseph Rodriguez (0-3) surrendered a leadoff single to Gray in the ninth and suffered the loss. Peters went 3-for-5 with an RBI to pace the Royals' offense.
Up Next
Austin Peay begins a four-game road trip with a 6 p.m. Tuesday contest against Southern Illinois at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
Other NotablesÂ
Austin Peay notched its first three-game series sweep of the season. It is the first sweep of an opponent since downing UT Martin on April 8-10 of last season.
The Governors also moved above .500 for the first time this season. Austin Peay was last above .500 on March 5, 2022, when it was 6-5 on the season after losing the opening game of the Kent State series. That loss was the third in a stretch that saw APSU lose 14 of 15 games.
Trevor Conley became the ninth different Governors batter to hit a home run this season.
Garrett Martin hit his 10th double of 2023, becoming the fifth different Governor with 10 or more doubles.
Clayton Gray hit his 17th double this season and remains tied for the ASUN lead with FGCU's Edrick Felix.
