CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - After collecting its first Atlantic Sun Conference series sweep of the season last weekend, Austin Peay State University's baseball team faces Bellarmine in its third ASUN series, Friday-Sunday, at Knights Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

Leading Off

The Governors come off another midweek win against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles with a 6-5 victory in Clarksville to extend their win streak to six games. Last weekend, Austin Peay won its second straight ASUN series with a sweep over Central Arkansas. It was Austin Peay's first three-game sweep on the road since winning its weekend series at UT Martin in 2022. With its sweep over the Bears, the Governors still lead the ASUN standings a game ahead of the second-place North Alabama Lions, who is 4-2 in conference play.

First Hacks

The Governors have won their last six games, including a pair of run-rule victories against Tennessee Tech and Southern Indiana, and have scored 63 runs on 75 hits in that span. 15 of those hits have been home runs, and 31 have been for extra bases. Last weekend against Central Arkansas, the Govs batted .336 and slugged .514 with a .430 on-base percentage.

• Center fielder John Bay is batting .337 on the season after a solid week at the plate last week. Bay was named the ASUN Player of the Week following a .450 (9-for-20) performance over five games last week. He hit three home runs and a double in that span while tallying nine RBI. He is the second Governor to earn the honor this season.
• Outfielder Cameron Nickens had a stellar week at the plate, batting .500 (11-for-22) over five games. He hit a pair of homers and two doubles while tallying nine RBI. He hit his league-leading ninth home run against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday in the victory at home.
• Outfielder Brody Szako made his return to the Govs' lineup two weekends ago in the ASUN conference opener against Lipscomb after battling an injury that kept him out since the first week of the season. Last week, Szako batted .429 (6-for-14) with three home runs and seven RBI. He also hit a pair of doubles and slugged 1.214 last week. He also found himself on base a lot after walking eight times and being hit by pitches twice for a .640 OBP.
• Infielder Andres Matias had another successful week at the plate last week, batting .400 (8-for-20) in the five games he started at short. He has been a threat in the bottom half of the Govs lineup, and it showed last week when he had a home run and two doubles while driving in seven runs. He was also two for three in stolen base attempts.
• First baseman/catcher Gus Freeman batted .500 (6-for-12) with a three-run home run and a double in the Central Arkansas series. Freeman drove in six runs in the series and only struck out once. He was hit by a pitch once, adding to his total on the year, which is now 13. He ranks ninth nationally in hit-by-pitches.
• Infielder Kyler Proctor batted .333 (8-for-24) last week over the five games the Governors played. He had a 3-for-5 performance against Tennessee Tech (March 18), hitting a home run and a double with two RBI while also fielding a perfect 1.000 over the week.
• Infielder/designated hitter Cole Johnson batted .292 last week, going 7-for-24 at the plate with two doubles and a home run, tallying six RBI. He made his first career start at first base at Tennessee Tech (March 18), where he went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double and tallied four RBI. On Tuesday at home, he hit his fourth homer of the year in the win over Tennessee Tech.
• Infielder Ray Velazquez batted .250 last week over all five games and batted .300 in the series against UCA. Against Central Arkansas, Velazquez hit two doubles and collected a pair of RBI. He has been on a steady pace at the plate over the last few weeks and has proven to be a critical part of the Govs' lineup both at the dish and at the hot corner.
• Catcher Trevor Conley has flipped his season at the plate and is red hot with a bat in his hands. He bats .237 on the season after batting .375 (6-for16) at the plate last week. He hit a double, two home runs, and his first career triple.

Facing The Knights

Series History

Austin Peay leads the all-time series 8-3 after winning two of three games last season. The Governors fell in the first game of the series but came back to win the next two, winning the series at home. In the series finale, April 7, The Govs won by a score of 14-4 in seven innings. That game was also the 800th win at Raymond C. Hand Park.

Scouting The Knights

At The Plate

• The Bellarmine offense is currently hitting .272, which ranks fifth in the ASUN. As a team, the Knights have recorded 81 extra-base hits, including 22 home runs, 54 doubles, five triples, and have tallied 154 RBI.
• Redshirt junior Eli Watson leads the Knights in batting average, hitting .375 with two home runs and 22 RBI. He ranks in the top 10 of four ASUN offensive categories, which include batting average, runs scored (23), hits (33), and RBI. He has started every game for Bellarmine this season.
• Seth Sweet-Chick has been the powerhouse at the plate, supplying the slugging numbers for the Knights. The redshirt senior infielder is currently batting .246 with a team-leading five home runs and has 18 RBI to his name, which is the third most on the team.

On The Mound

• Bellarmine ranks last in the ASUN with a team ERA of 10.83. Over 24 games and 192 innings, the Knights have allowed 269 runs, 231 earned, and opponents are batting .357 against their pitchers.
• Redshirt senior relief pitcher Mike Sokol has been the man out of the pen for the Knights. He leads the Bellarmine staff with a 3.18 ERA over 17 innings in his six appearances. He has only allowed eight runs, six earned, to score and is holding batters to a .213 batting average.
• Sophomore Chase Carver has started more games on the mound than any pitcher for the Knights this season, with six. He has accumulated an 8.88 ERA over 25.1 innings, allowing 32 runs, 25 earned, to score, and has the most strikeouts on the team with 23.

Broadcast Information

Fans unable to attend can listen to the weekend series on ESPN Clarksville 104.1 FM in the Clarksville area or through the TuneIn app on their mobile device.

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.