CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) First baseman Parker Phillips’ two-run home run – his 40th career homer – put Austin Peay State University’s baseball team in the lead through three frames and they didn’t look back in a dominant 14-2 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Belmont, Sunday afternoon on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.

With the win, the Governors won the three-game OVC series, 2-1, and moved into a tie with Belmont for the league lead after four of 10 conference weekends. The Govs and Bruins end the weekend tied with Jacksonville State and Murray State with .667 win percentages.

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the third, Austin Peay (14-12, 8-4 OVC) saw third baseman Gino Avros earn a leadoff walk. After the Govs moved him with a sacrifice bunt, center fielder Garrett Spain tied the game with a single. That brought Phillips to the plate where he hammered the ball to left center for a two-run home run and a 3-1 lead.

Belmont (13-14, 8-4 OVC) would work to respond in the fourth inning. Right fielder Devon Gardner began the frame with a double, but Austin Peay starter Brandon Vial caught him trying to steal third for the second out of the inning. That out would prove pivotal as third baseman Logan Jarvis singled after the out and scored on center fielder Hagan Severance’s single, cutting the Govs lead to 3-2.

The Governors would add to their lead in the fifth inning with five consecutive batters reaching base with two outs. Designated hitter Matt Joslin’s two-run bases loaded single giving APSU a 6-2 lead.

But it was a monstrous seventh inning that broke the game open for the Govs. Sending 13 men to the plate, the Govs scored eight times in the frame. Shortstop Garrett Kueber, the ninth man to the plate, hit a two-run single that proved to be the biggest hit in the frame but he was one of six Govs with an RBI in the inning.

The offensive outburst benefitted Vial (3-2) who went five innings and held Belmont to two runs while scattering eight hits over five innings. Four Govs relievers combined to hold the Bruins scoreless over the final four innings.

Joslin led the Govs with a 2-for-3, three RBI day. Spain had his first career four-hit day with a 4-for-5, two RBI, three runs-scored performance. Belmont starter Korey Bell (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on two hits and four walks in three innings. Severance led the Bruins offense with a 3-for-4, one RBI effort.

Austin Peay begins a four-game road trip with a 6 p.m., Tuesday contest at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee.