Game 1: Shortstop Jaden Brown hit a two-run home run, and designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green had two extra-base hits, but Austin Peay State University’s baseball team dropped a 13-2 decision to Illinois State, Friday, in the Opening Day of the 2023 college baseball season on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Game 2: Seven Austin Peay State University pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts and did not allow a run after the first inning as the Governors’ baseball team handed head coach Roland Fanning his first victory as a head coach courtesy a 9-1 victory against Illinois State.
Clarksville-native Nick James (1-0) struck out six batters in his four innings to pick up the win in his Austin Peay debut. Relievers Devin Crawford (2 strikeouts), Zach Wyatt (1), Jackie Robinson (2), Tyler Hampu (3), and Paul Rector (3) completed the 17-strikeout effort. It was the most strikeouts by the Govs pitchers since a 17-strikeout outing against Tennessee Tech in 2019.
Offensively, the Govs broke out the batters in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. Left fielder Harrison Brown gave Austin Peay the lead with an RBI ground out. Second baseman Matt Aribal added an RBI single, and shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar added an RBI double for a 4-1 lead. Austin Peay would tack on a run in the fifth and two in the sixth and seventh innings to secure the win. Aribal, making his APSU debut, went 4-for-4 with a double and RBI. Gazdar was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI.
Game 3: Lyle Miller-Green had five hits and five RBI, including a pair of home runs, but Austin Peay State University’s baseball team fell to Illinois State, 14-13 in 10 innings. Miller-Green finished the day 5-for-6 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI. He hit home runs in his first two at-bats, and his seventh-inning two-run double allowed the Govs to take a 13-12 lead.
