Murray State
Austin Peay
OVC Play Begins as Racers Head to Austin Peay
3/5/2020 1:54:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 14-16
Murray State at Austin Peay
March 6-8, 2020
First Pitch:Â Friday: 6 p.m., Saturday: 1 p.m., Sunday: 1 p.m.
Series History: Murray State leads 112-100-1
Last Meeting: March 27, 2019 (MSU Won 8-3)
Stadium:Â Raymond C. Hand Park
Dimensions:Â 319Â (LF) | 392Â (CF) | 327Â (RF)
Live Video:Â Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats:Â Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter In-Game:Â @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers enter OVC play with a 7-6 overall record after falling to Kentucky on a walk-off home run, Wednesday. Austin Peay comes into the game after taking down Southern Illinois on Wednesday.
Inside the Series
Murray State and Austin Peay have met over 200 times in a series that dates back to 1948. The Racers hold a slight 112-100-1 advantage overall but APSU has 58-51-1 record against MSU in Clarksville.
Amongst Nation's Leaders
The Racers are 19th in the country in batting average at .314, 10th in total hits with 139, 13th in doubles with 29, and 17th in runs with 101 Â Ryan Perkins and Brock Anderson are 15th in RBI with 17 while Anderson is sixth in home runs with six.
Big Wins and Crushing Defeats
The Racers are 5-1 this year in games decided by five runs or more. On the flip side, they are 1-5 in one-run games in just 13 games this season so far.
Anderson's Big Day
Senior Brock Anderson had a huge day in the series finale against Bowling Green as he hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and collected nine RBI.
Offense Breaks Out
After scoring only six runs combined in the first two games of the series against Bowling Green, the Racers exploded for 25 on Sunday. It is the most runs MSU has scored since they hung a school-record 31 on Eastern Illinois in 2016.
Perkins Earns OVC Honors
Senior Ryan Perkins earned OVC Player of the Week Honors (Feb. 17-23)Â after hitting .450 with two home runs, 11 RBI, six runs scored, one double, one triple, and two stolen bases in five games. He is the first Racer to be recognized by the OVC since Tyler Dixon in 2016.
How Sweep It Is
The Racers took all four games of the series with Saint Peter's over the weekend. It is the first four-game sweep for MSU since taking four games from Nebraska-Omaha in 1983.
BrockStar
Senior Brock Anderson was named to the preseason All-OVC team, becoming the first Racer to earn the honor since 2017. A year ago, Anderson led the team with 13 home runs and 44 runs batted in while hitting .289.
Racers Picked Sixth
Murray State was picked sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll as voted on by head coaches and SIDs. Defending regular season and tournament champion Jacksonville State was picked to repeat.
Scouting Austin Peay
Austin Peay was picked third in the OVC Preseason Poll, just one point behind EKU for second. Last year, they finished tied for second at 19-11.
Garrett Spain is the reigning OVC Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-OVC Preseason team. So far this season, he is hitting .244 with two home runs and seven RBI.
Harley Gollert will get the start on Friday. He is currently 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA but has struck out 14 compared to just four walks. In 2019, he was named to the OVC All-Freshman team.
The Governors are good at getting out of jams as they are currently 5th in the country in double plays turned with 15.
Probable Starters
Trevor McMurray (RHP) (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Harley Gollert (LHP) (0-2, 8.36 ERA)
Shane Burns (LHP) (1-1, 0.57 ERA) vs. TBA
Sam Gardner (RHP) (2-0, 1.46 ERA) vs. TBA
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