MARION, Ill. – (ESPN Clarksville) Left fielder Aaron Campbell hit two home runs and finished with six RBI as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team opened its 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship run with a dominating 12-2 victory against UT Martin, Wednesday at Rent One Park.
Austin Peay (31-23) advances in the winner’s bracket and will face Eastern Kentucky in a 3 p.m., Thursday contest at Rent One Park.
Campbell’s impact was felt in Austin Peay’s first turn at bat. After right fielder Parker Phillips hit a two-out single, center fielder Garrett Spain was hit by a pitch. Campbell did not waste a pitch, taking the first one he saw over the wall in left for a three-run shot.
UT Martin (25-30) would chip into the lead with single runs in both the second and fourth innings. First baseman Ethan Whitley cut the Govs lead to one run with his solo home run in the fourth.
But the Governors scored the game’s next nine runs. Second baseman Malcolm Tipler hit a three-run home run in the fourth, extending the APSU lead to 6-2. One inning later, Campbell struck again with a two-run home run to left center and the lead was 8-2.
Austin Peay plated three runs on a trio of consecutive singles in the sixth by Spain, Campbell and catcher David Martinez. Shortstop Garrett Kueber added a RBI single in the seventh to set the final score.
Pucheu (8-4) was needed for just six innings of work courtesy the Govs offensive outburst. He tied the Austin Peay single-season record for strikeouts (105) with an eight-strikeout outing that saw him scatter two hits and a walk.
Campbell led the Govs with a 3-for-5, six RBI performance while becoming the third APSU hitter with two home runs in an OVC tournament game since 1996. Tipler was 2-for-3 with three RBI and Phillips went 2-for-4 and scored twice.
UTM starter Winston Cannon (6-9) surrendered eight runs on seven hits and four walk over his five innings. Whitley’s 1-for-4, one RBI outing paced the Skyhawks offense, which was held to four hits.