CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time since 2019, Austin Peay State University's baseball team enters the regular season's final weekend with the opportunity to clinch a league championship. The Governors, who hold a one-game lead on the Atlantic Sun Conference title race, host North Alabama in a three-game series scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.

ASUN SERIES SCENE SETTER

Title Race: The Govs "Magic Number" entering the weekend is two against a group of three teams. Austin Peay can clinch at least a share of the title with two wins against North Alabama and claim it outright with a sweep. The Govs also can clinch the title outright with a series win if none of the three teams chasing it sweeps their series. The Govs last conference title opportunity came at the end of the 2019 season when it hosted Jacksonville State. APSU needed only to win the series to clinch the title that season but was swept by JSU.

Austin Peay: The Govs moved into first place with its May 4 win at Stetson. Austin Peay has won 12 of its last 14 games (since April 20) and 17 of its last 22 (since April 6). Since April 6, the APSU offense has averaged 13.4 runs per game while batting .400 with 76 home runs and a .489 on-base percentage. The Govs also remained among the teams that received votes in the NCBWA Top 25 poll this week.

North Alabama: The Lions split their series against North Florida last weekend: losing Game 1, winning Game 2, and seeing Game 3 ended in a tie as a travel curfew prevented play beyond the 13th inning. The Lions enter the final weekend with a "Tragic Number" of one, meaning they must sweep the Govs and see a trio of teams in front of them all suffer sweeps to have an opportunity to make the ASUN Tournament next week.

GOVS TOP NOTES AND NOTABLES

THESE GOVS ABSOLUTELY RAKE

Entering this weekend's action, the Govs' offense is producing at a historic pace. APSU enters the weekend; leading all Division I teams in total home runs (140) and doubles (140). In addition, the Govs lead the ASUN, rank among the NCAA's top teams, and will set program records in each of the following averages:

BEWARE THE K

Meanwhile, Austin Peay's pitching staff continues to strike out opponents at a near-record pace, averaging 9.58 strikeouts per nine innings. That rate is among the best in program history, narrowly behind the 2019 staff's 9.92 strikeout rate (556 Ks/504.1 IP). This season's strikeout rate ranks 42nd among Division I teams and leads all ASUN squads.

FIRST HACKS

• Center fielder John Bay has hit four grand slams this season (see page 4). He has 70 RBI this season, including 20 RBI in eight games since April 30 –  when he had nine RBI against Alabama A&M, including two grand slams. Bay ranks seventh nationally in slugging percentage and 10th in home runs.
• First baseman/right fielder Harrison Brown closed the Central Arkansas series with his 14th home run of the season as part of a 2-for-5 outing. It was his first home run since back-to-back two-homer outings against Eastern Kentucky and Alabama A&M (April 28 & 30).
• Utility man Jaden Brown has eight home runs this season, seven of those in his 13 games played since April 12 and six in ASUN play. He went 3-for-6 with two doubles and a home run at Central Arkansas.
• Catcher Keaton Cottam enjoyed his second straight three-hit Tuesday after going 3-for-4 with a career-best three RBI against Belmont after going  3-for-5 with four runs scored against AAMU last Tuesday.
• Catcher Gus Freeman became the seventh different Govs hitter with a grand slam this season as part of his 2-for-5, 5 RBI day at Central Arkansas on May 12. He is batting a team-best .402 in ASUN play.
• Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar saw a 40-game reached safely streak end in the UCA series finale on May 12. He leads the ASUN with a .396 batting average, ranking 22nd among Division I hitters.
• Infielder Conner Gore broke out with a 4-for-5 outing against Alabama A&M, including a double, two RBI, and three runs scored. He is batting .429 (9-21) in his last five starts, with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI.
• Right fielder Clayton Gray extended his hit streak to 14 games with six hits during the UCA series. He is sixth among Division I hitters with an ASUN-best 22 doubles. He is the first Govs hitter with two 20-double seasons after finishing last season with 24 doubles and 24 stolen bases. 
• Two-way man Lyle Miller-Green, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, hit his 27th home run against Belmont on May 7. He leads all Division I hitters in runs scored (86) and RBI (86) and is fourth in home runs (27) – all APSU records. LMG is one homer shy of breaking the ASUN single-season record. 
• First baseman Justin Olson extended his streak of reaching safely to nine games with his 2-for-4 outing against Central Arkansas on May 11.
• Third baseman Brody Szako went 5-for-15 with four RBI at Central Arkansas. He has 17 RBI in 10 games, dating back to the start of the Eastern Kentucky series on April 26. 
• Second baseman Ambren Voitik has a five-game hit streak (.421, 8-19) and has a hit in 17 of his last 19 games dating back to March 29. He has 40 hits and 37 runs scored in those 19 games.
• Infielder Mateo Hernandez and outfielder Nathan Barksdale have been part of the Govs' "Hands Team," each entering the game defensively when the Govs are leading late.

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.