NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont baseball team (16-17, 6-9) will travel to Clarksville on Wednesday to take on Austin Peay (15-15, 5-3) in a non-conference tilt. The contest is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. at the Governors' Hand Park.
Austin Peay holds an overall record of 15-15, but the Govs are 11-7 in the confines of Hand Park. They will host Western Kentucky today before welcoming the Bruins to Clarksville on Wednesday. Most recently, Austin Peay took two out of three games from Eastern Kentucky this past weekend.
The Governors are led at the plate by four starters batting over .300 on the year. Michael Blanchard is at the top with a mark of .352, and has totaled six doubles, three triples, a home run, and 16 runs batted in. Jordan Hankins currently has 18 RBI with six doubles and one home run, while batting .350.
Rolando Gautier is scheduled to make the start for Austin Peay on Wednesday. The left-handed freshman has allowed no earned runs in his two appearances in 2011. Gautier has allowed only one hit in three innings pitched this season. Belmont will send freshman James Buckelew (Suwanee, Ga.) to the mound. Buckelew currently holds an ERA of 7.39 in six starts for the Bruins. The lefty has struck out 24 batters in 35.1 innings pitched.
Austin Peay leads Belmont in the all-time series by a mark of 42-22. Back in 1954, the first season these two teams faced each other, the Govs took two from the Bruins. In BU's NCAA era, Austin Peay leads the series 14-10. Last season the two squads split a pair of games, as the Govs won 17-14 in Clarksville and Belmont won 7-4 in Nashville.
The Bruins are coming off of a weekend, in which they took two out of three games from Atlantic Sun Conference foe USC Upstate. Sophomores Chase Brookshire (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) both recorded wins after fantastic performances on the mound. Brookshire recorded the first complete game of the season for Belmont, while Davis tallied a two-hitter in an eight inning start.
After this midweek tilt at Austin Peay, Belmont will host ETSU in a three game conference series at Shelby Park in Nashville, Tenn.
