CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team is set to host North Alabama in week five of Atlantic Sun Conference play in a three-game weekend series, starting at 6 p.m., Friday, at Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.
LEADING OFF
Austin Peay (16-17, 7-5 ASUN) is coming off a midweek loss at Tennessee Tech in a two-run game, as the Govs fell 7-5 in midweek action. Before that, the Governors won their third ASUN series of the season, after taking two games from Eastern Kentucky on the road. The Governors have won three of their four ASUN series this season, taking two of three games in each series against Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, and now Eastern Kentucky. Austin Peay is now in a three-way tie for first place in the ASUN Gold Division with Lipscomb and North Alabama.
The Governors are 7-5 in conference games this season and are 14-12 in weekend series. At home this year, the Governors are just 5-3, as they have played 25 of their 33 road games on the schedule at this point in the season. The Governors have just two more weekend series away from Stacheville, with weekends at Lipscomb (April 24-26) and North Alabama (May 14-16).
Redshirt junior Ray Velazquez's numbers at the plate have been rising over the last few weeks, as he has now taken the lead on the Governors' roster with nine home runs, which is tied for the third-most in the ASUN. He has hit four homers in the last six games and has raised his batting average over .300 for the first time this season after going 3-for-4 at Tennessee Tech on Tuesday. He is now sitting at a .310 batting average coming into the weekend and is now tied for the most multi-RBI games this season, with eight.
North Alabama (14-18, 7-5 ASUN) comes into the weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the ASUN Gold Division with the Governors and Lipscomb. Just like Austin Peay did at Central Arkansas two weeks ago, North Alabama took games one and three against the Bears to win its most recent ASUN series.
Unlike the Governors, the Lions have won only two conference series this season, against Central Arkansas a week ago and Eastern Kentucky the week before that. North Alabama lost its ASUN-opening series at Lipscomb and also dropped two games on the road against Bellarmine.
The Lions come into the weekend with a one-game losing streak after falling to UT Martin on Tuesday. A three-run ninth from UT Martin was the final blow for North Alabama, despite the Lions' three-run response in the bottom of the inning, thanks to Petey Craska's three-run homer. The Lions would fall 6-5.
North Alabama is led by head coach Jad Prachniak, who is in his fourth season with the Lions and his 13th overall.
PITCHING PROBABLES
The Governors will send junior right-hander Cody Airington to the mound in the series opener. Airington has found his groove on the hill after putting together back-to-back quality starts at Central Arkansas (March 27) and Eastern Kentucky (April 3). He has a 2-1 record coming into the weekend with a 4.88 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 16 walks across 31.1 innings this season. He'll be matched against North Alabama's Justus Agosto, who has a 1-3 record and a 5.96 ERA across 22.2 innings in 13 appearances.
Senior Ryker Walton will take the hill in game two of the series after recently picking up his first win of the season, and as a Governor, at Eastern Kentucky (April 2) last week. He struck out a season-high six batters in the five-inning outing. He will go up against southpaw Tripp Patterson, who is one of three left-handed pitchers on the Lions' staff. He comes into the weekend with a 2-3 record with a 6.65 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 15 walks across his eight starts and 43.1 innings of work, which both lead North Alabama arms.
Southpaw junior DJ Merriweather is slated as the game three starter to close out the series. He is 2-0 coming into the weekend with a 5.01 ERA and a team-leading 43 strikeouts across 32.1 innings in eight appearances. He is matched against another left-hander in Reese Young for the Lions. He has started four games for North Alabama and has a 1-0 record coming into the weekend. He has a 7.24 ERA with 10 strikeouts and eight walks.
SERIES HISTORY
North Alabama leads the all-time series 32-31 dating back to 1935. The Lions won the first meeting in '35, 2-0.
The Governors enter the weekend with a three-game winning streak in the all-time series, after sweeping the Lions in a three-game weekend series in Clarksville the last weekend of April a season ago.
The last win for Austin Peay came on April 27, 2025, when the Governors beat the Lions 11-7 at home. The last North Alabama win came on April 13, 2025, in Florence, when the Lions responded with a 16-12 win after being no-hit in game one of the doubleheader that day.
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. Van Stokes, who is in his 25th season as the Govs play-by-play voice, will have the call.
The series will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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 and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.
