CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's baseball hosts Eastern Kentucky in its final home weekend series, starting at 6 p.m., Friday, at Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.
LEADING OFF
Austin Peay (23-25, 13-11 ASUN) is coming off a recent loss at Southeast Missouri in its final nonconference game of the season. The Governors were 3-7 in midweek contests this season, while going 10-14 in their nonconference schedule, which was one of their toughest in recent history.
Last weekend, Austin Peay came away with an Atlantic Sun Conference series win at home against Central Arkansas. The Governors remain in fourth place in the ASUN Gold Division after the series, but are now just two games out of first place. North Alabama remains at the top of the division, just one game ahead of Central Arkansas and Lipscomb, who are tied for second place.
The Governors used just five arms in games one and two in their series against the Bears last weekend, with two being used in the first game, as junior right-hander Cody Airington threw a career-high eight innings while picking up his fourth win of the season.
Eastern Kentucky (13-36, 5-19 ASUN) is coming off a 5-3 win against Western Kentucky, which Austin Peay faced just two weeks ago. The Colonels have won two out of their last four games after losing the ASUN series to Lipscomb a weekend ago, but took game two, 2-0, for their first shutout win of the season.
The Colonels have been eliminated from playoff contention, sitting at the bottom of the Gold Division standings, eight games behind the fourth-place Governors.
THE LAST TIME
The last time these two squads met was in week four of conference play, the first weekend of April. The series took place in Richmond, Kentucky, and the Governors came away with the series win, taking games one and three.
The Colonels took game two with a walk-off RBI single to left off the bat of Jackson Cauthron, in a three-run ninth inning comeback, as they won 7-6.
The Governors responded with a 12-9 victory in game three, with three Governors recording multi-RBI performances. Senior Zion Taylor's two-RBI single in the top of the seventh was enough to secure the game for the Governors.
PITCHING PROBABLES
The projected starters for the Governors are the same rotation as last weekend, with junior Cody Airington on Friday, senior Ryker Walton on Saturday, and junior DJ Merriweather on Sunday. The three arms combined have struck out 138 batters across 35 appearances and 140.0 innings. Their combined record this season is 9-6.
The Colonels have not announced their starting rotation.
MILESTONES WATCH LIST
Head coach Roland Fanning has a 129-92 record at Austin Peay, which is the fifth-most by a head coach in program history. He is now just five wins away from becoming the fourth-most winningest coach in Austin Peay program history. Leon Sandifer, who collected 133 wins across 18 seasons, is currently ahead of Fanning, with a 133-146 career record as a Governor.
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 streamed 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.
