CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Governors look to keep the bats hot in a midweek matchup against Middle Tennessee State Tuesday at 3 p.m. (CT) at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

LEADING OFF

The Governors come off a four-game series sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne, where they outscored the Mastodons 32-6. They outhit PFW in every game, and have outhit their opponents over the last six games, going 5-1 in that span. The Govsalso saw an improvement over the weekend from their bullpen. Austin Peay's starting pitchers have had three straight quality starts and have not allowed more than three hits from each starter over those games.

FIRST HACKS

• Center fielder John Bay is batting .393 on the season. He batted .517 last week before the series finale against PFW, where he went 8-for-14 (.571) with four doubles, a triple, and a home run. He was a single shy of the cycle in Game 3 against PFW, (2/23) where the Govs won 6-1. He had an OBP of .684, a 1.214 slugging and a 1.898 OPS in that span of four games.
• Catcher Keaton Cottam has shared his time with Trevor Conley behind the plate, starting three of the four games he's played in this season. He is currently batting .375 with three singles in his eight at-bats this year, and has walked twice.
• First baseman/catcher Gus Freeman has started all eight games at first for the Govs so far this year. He bats .346 coming into the midweek against MTSU with a pair of homers, two doubles, and five RBI. His five-game hit streak ended in the series finale against Purdue Fort Wayne (2/24). 
• Outfielder Brody Szako, a Preseason all-ASUN selection, has only played in three games this year due to an injury early on in the year. In his time on the field so far, he has hit .200 with a home run and four RBI. His home run came against New Mexico (2/14) in the Govs' season opener in the 2025 MLB Desert Invitational.  
• Infielder Andres Matias has gotten off to a hot start for the Govs this season. He has started in six of the seven games he's played in this year, batting .235 with a double and a home run. He has played good defense at the hot corner, fielding .938 and making one error in 16 total chances.
• Outfielder Cameron Nickens the Houston transfer has brought a power spark into the Governors lineup this season, batting .242 with a team-leading four home runs. He also leads the team in RBI (8) and has a triple to his name.
• Infielder Kyler Proctor has been the starting second baseman for the Governors in every game this season. He bats .250 coming into the midweek with a double, five RBI, and three stolen bases on the year while fielding a perfect 1.000 at second.
• Outfielder Nathan Barksdale has made his presence known in the lineup this year, starting four of the six games he's played in thus far. He was primarily used in the "hands game" in the outfield last year, but so far this season, he is a top contender for the everyday starter in right. He currently bats .294 with a grand slam, a triple, and four RBI. He was a double away from the cycle in his 4-for-4 performance against Grand Canyon University (2/16).
• Infielder Austen Jaslove has been the everyday shortstop for the Govs this year, starting all eight games up the middle. He is batting .259 with two doubles and a triple with seven RBI.
• Infielder Cole Johnson has been an impact player in a short amount of time in Clarksville. The redshirt-freshman has made a presence in the DH role, batting .381 with a homer, two doubles, and six RBI on the year. He was hitless in his first three games but has recorded a hit in the last four games. Three of those four were multi-hit games, including Game 3 against PFW (2/23) where he hit two doubles.

FACING THE BLUE RAIDERS

Series History

Austin Peay has not been historically successful against Middle Tennessee State on the road, nor overall in series history. The Governors have a 74-137 overall record dating back to 1937, when the Govs took one of four games from MTSU. The Governors' record in Murfreesboro is 25-66. The two teams split their home and away meetings 1-1 in 2024, with the Govs winning at home but losing on the road 15-16 in 10 innings (4/23)

Coach Meyers

Head coach Jerry Meyers is the 23rd baseball coach in MTSU history. This year is considered his third season as head coach for the program after taking over as the interim head coach in 2023. He helped lead MTSU to the Conference USA semifinals in his first season as the No.  7 seed in the tournament. The lowest seed to reach the CUSA semifinals since Rice in 2019.

He has seen 128 players drafted in the MLB Draft over his years at Old Dominion, South Carolina, and MTSU. He was named the 2006 CAA Coach of the Year at ODU and also earned a gold medal as the Team USA Collegiate Team Pitching Coach in 2008.

ALL-CONFERENCE USA TRIO

Three Blue Raiders were picked as Preseason All-Conference USA selections for the 2025 season. Outfielder Eston Snider, left-handed pitcher Chandler Alderman, and two-way player Trace Phillips all earned a spot on the preseason team. This is the highest number of MTSU players to make the preseason team since joining Conference USA in 2013.

Scouting the Blue Raiders

Hitting For Average

• So far this season, the Blue Raiders have five players batting over .300, with three of the bunch having at least one home run to their name.
• Eston Snider leads the charge offensively for MTSU. He has started in all seven games for the blue Raiders, and he bats .536 going into the midweek against the Govs, with fifteen hits, including a double and three home runs. He is slugging .893 with an on-base percentage of .600 on the year for a 1.493 OPS.
• Snider is followed by Clay Badylak, who is batting .500, going 5-for-10 at the plate with five RBI. He carries a three-game hit streak going into the midweek, going 5-for-7 against Fairleigh Dickinson University with a triple in the final game of the series. 
• Tyler Minnick has played in every game this season and is 12-for-27 (.444) on the season with a home run and four doubles. He ranks second for MTSU in RBI (9).

The Right-Handed Slingers

• Trace Phillips has made two starts on the bump this year for MTSU, picking up the win in both games. He has thrown 12.0 innings for the Blue Raiders this year and has been dominant, not allowing a run in either start. He has only given up nine hits and walked a pair of batters while striking out 17 total this year.
• Drew Horn has made two starts so far this season and has a 1-0 record with 11.0 innings pitched on the year. He has also struck out a total of 17 batters so far and has only allowed one run on two hits and six walks, holding opponents to a .057 batting average.

Conference USA Rankings

• MTSU currently ranks eighth in CUSA standings with a 4-3 record. Florida International University currently leads the standings with a 7-1 record.
• The Blue Raiders have won four games at home this year and lost two. They are on a three-game win streak heading into the Tuesday midweek.

Here Come The Bats Govs

• As mentioned earlier, the Governors outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 32-6 in their four-game series sweep this weekend.
• The Govs hit six homers as a team, as well as two triples and 10 doubles in the series.
• John Bay had recorded a hit in every game this season until Monday's series finale against PFW, where he went 0-for-1 with three walks. Before that, he had a seven-game hit streak with three multi-hit games. The slugger showed off his speed over the weekend as he collected four doubles and a triple. He was also just a single away from the cycle in Game 3 (2/23) where he went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
• Gus Freeman has reached base safely in six straight games and currently bats .346 with a pair of home runs and five RBI. The 2024 ASUN leader in batting average is off to a hot start this year, slugging .654 with a .514 on-base percentage after walking five times and being hit by pitches four times. Over 26 at-bats, he has only struck out just four times, and is one of the toughest outs in Austin Peay's lineup.

Quality on the Mound

• Cody Airington has established himself as a strong performer on the mound for the Govs this season. In his two starts, he has struck out a team-high nine batters and has held batters to a .167 batting average. He has thrown 10.1 innings thus far and has allowed just three runs on six hits and one walk. He recorded his first quality start of the year and the Govs' first quality start of the year against Purdue Fort Wayne (2/23), where he went six innings with four strikeouts and allowed just one run.
• Lyndon Glidewell has made two starts for the Govs this year and picked up his first win this weekend against PFW. He threw six innings in Monday's victory over the Mastodons, where he did not allow a run on just two hits and three walks while striking out three batters. He has a team-best ERA of all starting pitchers with a 0.90.
• Jacob Weaver picked up his first win of the season after throwing six innings Sunday against PFW, not allowing a run on a pair of hits and walks each while punching out five.

Media Information

There will not be a stream for this game, but you can still follow along by tuning into ESPN Clarksville 104.1 FM or through the TuneIn app, as Van Stokes will have the call.

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