CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Suddenly and squarely on the national radar, the Austin Peay State University baseball team begins a four-game homestand when it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Govs and Hawks open the series with a 5 p.m. Friday game before noon outings on Saturday and Sunday.

ON THE MOUND FOR THE GOVS

Jacob Weaver was the Govs' Opening Day starter and made his ninth consecutive start (dating back to last season); he struck out six batters in his five-inning outing but allowed five runs in a game APSU lost 6-5, leaving him with no decision. 

Andrew Devine became the first Govs pitcher with a win in 2024 courtesy of a five-inning outing against Western Illinois and 18 runs of offensive support. He entered the season as one of 11 pitching newcomers and had not started a game since the 2022 season.  

Adam Walker is penciled in to make his first start as a Governor in Sunday's series finale. He did not appear during the Govs Week 1 action. Walker last appeared on the mound on March 30, 2023, when Oklahoma faced Stanford.

FIRST HACKS

• Center fielder John Bay has a hit in the season's first five games, with eight of his 10 hits going for extra bases. He hit his Division I leading sixth double at Mississippi State on Wednesday.
• On Wednesday, Harrison Brown snapped a two-game hitless streak with an emphatic 3-for-5 outing at Mississippi State. After singling in the ninth, he scored the go-ahead run on catcher Trevor Conley's two-out double.  
• Infielder Jaden Brown started Games 1 and 3 of the Western Illinois series at second base but got off to a slow start at the plate (0-for-5).
• Catcher Trevor Conley's two-out ninth-inning double provided the game-winning RBI against MSU on Wednesday. It capped a 3-for-3 day at the plate, including a solo home run in the eighth inning to close the deficit to one run.
• Catcher Gus Freeman started Games 1 and 3 of the WIU series behind the plate. After a hitless season opener, he rebounded with a 1-for-2 outing that included an RBI double and an RBI walk.
• Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar brings a five-game hit streak into the weekend, including four straight multi-hit games. He provided all three RBI in the Govs' 3-2 Tuesday victory against MSU and went 5-for-9 with four RBI in the MSU series.
• Right fielder Clayton Gray also has a hit in all five games of 2024. He was 4-for-9 at Mississippi State, including a two-run double in the ninth inning that provided vital insurance runs in the 13-10 come-from-behind win.  
• Infielder Andres Matias has started at third base in the Govs' last three games. He is 1-for-9 at the plate but walked and scored the Govs' first run in Wednesday's victory.
• Lyle Miller-Green, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, drove in the Govs' first two runs of Wednesday's win with a third-inning single. He then belted his fourth homer of 2024 in the fifth inning. LMG is second in Division I with four home runs after the season's first full week.
• Justin Olson started at first base in both Mississippi State games. He reached via hit-by-pitch and scored on Gazdar's home run in Game 1 of the pair. Olson added a first-inning single – the Govs' first hit – in Game 2.
• Infielder Paris Pridgen used his speed effectively in Game 3 of the WIU series. In his lone at-bat, he reached on a bunt attempt with two out in the eighth inning and advanced to third after a throwing error. He eventually scored the game-winning run on John Bay's double.
• Infielder Brody Szako's pinch-hit two-run home run kickstarted the Gov's late-inning rally in Wednesday's win. He had just one hit but earned a 10-pitch walk in the ninth and later scored as the Govs extended their lead to 13-10.
• Infielder Ambren Voitik was APSU's starting second baseman in both games of the Mississippi State series. He was 1-for-4 in Game 2 of the series, but his line-drive sac fly in the ninth provided the game-tying RBI – his fourth game with an RBI this season.
• Infielder Mateo Hernandez and outfielder Nathan Barksdale have been part of the Govs' "Hands Team," each entering the game with the Govs leading late. Hernandez has three appearances at second base, while Barksdale has three appearances in right field.

NOTES AND NOTABLES

STARKVILLE SPLASH: Austin Peay completed its second all-time midweek sweep against Mississippi State on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Govs led wire-to-wire in a 3-2 Tuesday win that featured a three RBI day by shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar. Wednesday was a different story as MSU led by scores of 5-0 and 10-5 before APSU scored the game's final eight runs, including three in the eighth and four in the ninth, to win 13-10. This season's midweek sweep joins the 2007 Govs, which swept the Bulldogs in a two-game midweek set in Clarksville.

PRESEASON NODS: Pitcher/outfielder Lyle Miller-Green entered 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.

HAWKS HIGHLIGHTS

Maryland Eastern Shore is under first-year head coach Danny Acosta who took over in August 2023. Prior to joining the Hawks, Acosta spent three seasons as the head coach at Iowa Lakes Community College where he compiled a 22-133 record… The Hawks are in their second season as an associate member of the Northeast Conference. Before the 2023 season, the NEC and MEAC announced a partnership where MEAC schools playing baseball, men's golf, and women's golf would join the NEC as associate members to help that league maintain its automatic bid in those respective NCAA championships… UMES was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team NEC this season, tied with Le Moyne. The Hawks finished 2023 tied for sixth with a 14-16 league mark while posting an 18-35 overall record… The Hawks opened the 2024 season at CAA-member North Carolina A&T, dropping all three games of the series. Outfielder Derrick Mayes II led the offense with a 4-for-12 weekend, including a 3-for-4 outing in the finale that included a solo home run… On the mound, UMES' starting rotation combined for 13.1 innings of work and a 4.73 ERA. Right-hander Joe Kelley was UMES' Opening Day starter and went six innings and left with the game tied, 2-2, before NCAT won 5-2..

SERIES DETAILS

THE SERIES: First Meeting.

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 online. Van Stokes, who begins his 24th season as the Govs play-by-play voice will have the call on for all three games of the series.

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.