DELAND, Fla. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team opened up the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with a win over North Florida, highlighted by strong performances from Lyndon Glidewell and Gus Freeman, Tuesday, at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

How it Happened

Bottom 3rd | The Govs got on the board first after a big four-run inning. John Bay drew a one-out walk before Cameron Nickens moved him to third on a single over second base. Gus Freeman came up to the plate next and blasted a three-run shot over the left field fence to get the Govs in the run column. Brody Szako then came up and hit a solo homer to straightaway center to put the Govs up 4-0.

Bottom 4th | Austin Peay found their way on the board again with a three-spot in the inning. Andres Matias led off with a single to the opposite field. Kyler Proctor laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached first on a throwing error by the relief pitcher, Clayton Boroski. Boroski threw out Matias for the first out of the inning after Bay hit into a fielder's choice. Nickens came up and collected his second hit of the game with a base hit through the right side of the infield, which loaded the bases for Freeman. He was then hit for his 27th time of the season to bring in another Govs run. Cole Johnson then collected his first hit of the game with a double down the right field line, which landed fair by just a few inches. That brought in another pair of runs, scoring Bay and Nickens for a 7-0 lead.

Top 5th | North Florida answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Brady Browning was hit by the inning's first pitch and advanced to second base on a groundout from Nick Monile for the second out of the inning. Connor Moore drove in Browning on a single to center field for the Ospreys' first run of the ballgame. Cade Bush then delivered with a double in the left center alley to score Moore and make the score 7-2.

Bottom 5th | Kai Etwaru entered the game in relief for Boroski after back-to-back one-out singles from Matias and Proctor. Bay walked for the second time in the contest to load the bases for the ASUN Player of the Year, Nickens. He fell behind in a two-strike count but came up clutch with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Matias and extending the lead to 8-2.

Bottom 7th | Proctor began the eighth with a one-out hit-by-pitch before advancing to third on a Bay double to left center. Nickens was intentionally walked to set up the double-play, but Freeman hit a deep fly ball to center field, allowing Proctor to score for his fifth RBI, matching his career-high in a single game.

Bottom 8th | After a one-out walk to Ray Velazquez, Trevor Conley came up clutch by driving in Velazquez from first base, with a double to the left center alley to extend the lead to 10-2.

Wrap Up

Lyndon Glidewell picked up the win after throwing seven innings in his 13th start of the season. He improved to 8-0 on the season after striking out five batters, allowing two earned runs to score on four hits and a walk.

Clay Hendry fell to 6-5 on the season after his three-inning start, where he struck out a batter while allowing four earned runs to score on six hits, two walks, and a hit batter.

Up Next

The Governors will face the No. 2 seed from the Graphite Division, Jacksonville, who won Game 1 of the tournament Tuesday morning against North Alabama, starting at 1 p.m. (CT), Thursday, at Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida.

Follow Govs Baseball on Socials

Follow Govs baseball (@GovsBSB) on Instagram and X.