LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team rallied for 15 hits while using just three pitchers in its 12-3 game three victory to win its first Atlantic Sun Conference series of the season, Sunday, at Knights Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

How it Happened

Just like it had done in the first two games of the series, Austin Peay rallied for a four-run first inning, beginning with a bunt single from redshirt junior Paris Pridgen. The next batter, senior Zion Taylor, singled to right, scoring Pridgen on the fifth pitch of the game. Graduate Andres Matias stepped up a few batters later. He delivered an RBI double off the left field wall before junior Kyler Proctor reached on an RBI infield single, with another run scoring on a throwing error for the 4-0 lead.

Bellarmine cut its deficit to two runs after scoring on a fielding error just three batters into its lineup and then scoring on an RBI groundout from Luke Scales.

The Knights would not score again until the sixth inning. And in that time, the Governors scored six runs, with another four-run inning in the third. After working the bases loaded and with two outs gone in the top of the third, junior DJ Merriweather hit his first-career triple to clear the bases. Graduate Trevor Conley came up next and hit the first pitch he saw into left, scoring Merriweather from third and extending the lead to 8-2.

Pridgen came up to the plate in the fifth with a pair of runners on base and collected his third hit of the game with a double off the top of the left field fence, scoring a pair of runners to make it a 10-2 Governors lead.

Bellarmine would score its third run of the game in the bottom of the sixth before Austin Peay put up another pair of runs in the eighth, courtesy of Taylor's RBI single and a sacrifice fly from sophomore Mason Pangborn.

Senior Gavin Alveti, who had entered the game in the seventh inning, closed the door to pick up his fourth save of the season after throwing three innings and not allowing a run to score while giving up just one hit.

Senior Aaron Lewis picked up his first win of the season to improve to 1-1 on the year. He threw innings five and six for the Governors and kept Austin Peay with a comfortable lead, allowing just one run to score on a walk and a hit.

Four Governors had multi-hit games, with Pridgen's four-hit day pacing the team, as he set a career single-game high while driving in two runs.

Up Next

The Governors head south to face the Rebels of Ole Miss in midweek action starting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, at Oxford-University Stadium at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.

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