CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team opens Roland Fanning's second season when it hosts Western Illinois in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Govs and Leathernecks will open the 2024 season with a 10:30 a.m. Friday contest. The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday before concluding with a 1 p.m. Sunday series finale.
ON THE MOUND FOR THE GOVS
Jacob Weaver gets the nod as the Govs' 2024 Opening Day starter. The junior moved into the weekend rotation for the final seven weekends of 2023 and merely posted a 2-1 record and 3.21 ERA over those seven starts. He was the winning pitcher in the Govs ASUN-tournament clinching win at North Alabama. He followed that with the win in APSU's first ASUN Tournament contest.
Andrew Devine leads a group of 11 pitching newcomers when he takes the mound for Game 2 on Saturday. It will be his first start since April 19, 2022, when Texas Tech traveled to New Mexico. In Lubbock, he made four starts for the Red Raiders in 2022, his only starts during a four-season career that totaled 53 appearances.
Josh Howitt, another of the Govs' 11 newcomers on the mound, gets the nod for Game 3 on Sunday. He pitched the past two seasons at Cal State Fullerton but only made 29 relief appearances for the Titans. Howitt's last start came during the 2023 season at Los Angeles Valley College.
NOTES AND NOTABLES
PRESEASON NODS: Pitcher/outfielder Lyle Miller-Green enters the year as the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Sun Conference's Player of the Year honor. The league's head coaches and D1Baseball.com tapped him for the preseason honor in early February. In addition, outfielder Clayton Gray was named to the Preseason All-ASUN team by the league's coaches. The coaches picked Austin Peay to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll.
SILKY SMOOTH SHORTSTOP: Jon Jon Gazdar may not have earned a spot on the Preseason All-ASUN team, but the shortstop did not go without recognition. D1Baseball.com listed the Walnut Creek, California product among its Top 50 shortstops nationally – the only ASUN shortstop listed. Miller-Green (No. 83) and Gray (No. 90) also were listed on the website's Top 100 Outfielder list.
BIG OFFENSE ON TAP: Austin Peay returns nearly all the regulars off an offense that posted one of the best seasons in program history. Of the nine hitters with 100 or more at-bats last season, only one will not return. Outfielder Garrett Martin is the Govs' lone departure after graduation and signing as a free agent with the New York Yankees. Offensive Breakdown on page 4.
CHANGE ON THE MOUND: While the offense returns the bulk of its output, the situation on the mound will be drastically different. Austin Peay saw 10 letterwinners depart from last season's pitching staff, leaving only six returnees. Each of those six returnees supplied 27 or more innings in 2023. Eleven newcomers bolster the Govs' bullpen, including five transfers from other Division I programs. Pitching Breakdown on page 5.
FLIPPING THE OPENING DAY SCRIPT: Austin Peay looks to break a five-game losing streak in season openers with Friday's opener. The Govs last won an opener in 2018 when they came from behind to post a 4-2 victory against South Dakota State. Michael Costanzo was the Opening Day starter that season and allowed one unearned run in five innings. Reliever Brett Newberg picked up the win with 3.2 innings, and Ross Walker picked up the save by recording the game's final out.
HOME FLIPPING TOO: The Govs also look to end a six-game losing streak in home openers that dates back to the 2017 season. The Govs are 3-6 in home openers since the end of their Three-Peayt in 2013.
TAGGING THE LEATHERNECKS
Western Illinois moved to the Ohio Valley Conference last summer after 42 seasons in the Summit League… In addition to the conference change, the Leathernecks changed leadership, with Terry Davis named head coach in July. He was previously an assistant coach at Washington State (2020-22), New Mexico State (2016-19), and Bellarmine (2014-16) after a 10-year stint as assistant coach at St. Catharine College, his alma mater… Davis looks to turn around a WIU program that has not enjoyed a winning season since 2007, one of its two winning seasons since 2000… Catcher Adam Juran and utility player Kyree Alexander return after earning All-Summit League honorable mention in 2023. Juran batted .288 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 37 games. Alexander also had four home runs while batting .257 with 18 RBI… On the mound, Tyler Kapraun returns after posting three wins in 16 appearances (12 starts). He is the lone WIU pitcher returning with double-digit starts in 2023.
SERIES DETAILS
THE SERIES: WIU leads the series, 2-1.
CURRENT STREAK: APSU, one win.
NOTABLY: Austin Peay and Western Illinois first met in back-to-back seasons at the Gulf Coast Tournament in Panama City, Florida, with the Leathernecks winning each of the neutral field affairs. The Govs got their first victory in the series with 2020's meeting in Clarksville.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase season tickets by contacting the APSU Ticket Office through an online form.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Fans unable to make it to Maynard Field at Hand Park can listen to the opening weekend series on ESPN Clarksville 104.1 FM in the Clarksville area or through the TuneIn app on their mobile device. Van Stokes, who begins his 24th season as the Govs play-by-play voice will have the call on Friday and Sunday. Ethan Schmidt will step in for Saturday's call.
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay Athletics - www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
