Eager to bounce back from a disappointing end to last season, Austin Peay Baseball released its 2015 schedule on Wednesday as preseason work picks up.
The Govs have started intrasquad scrimmages this month, with the real games beginning on Feb. 13 as APSU plays at home on Opening Day for the sixth consecutive season. Raymond C. Hand Park will be the host location for the Governors Challenge, a three-day invitational which features games against Niagara, South Dakota, and Northern Illinois. Another tournament, Governors Classic, will take place from Feb. 27 to March 1, with the Govs playing Northern Kentucky, Dayton, and Western Michigan.
Sandwiched between the two events are home games against Southern Illinois and Indiana State, while APSU hits the road for the first three-game series at Samford beginning on Feb. 20.
Highlighting the list of non-conference opponents are Tennessee and Memphis. The Govs are scheduled to scrimmage the Vols on Nov. 1, while also returning there on March 17 for a regular season contest. Memphis will make the trip to Clarksville on April 14.
Other non-conference match-ups on the slate are at Western Kentucky, another meeting with Indiana State, this time on the road, at Southern Illinois, along with home-and-home sets against both Middle Tennessee and Lipscomb.
Ohio Valley Conference play begins for the Govs on the weekend of March 6, taking on Eastern Illinois. Three-game series against Murray State (March 20-22), Southeast Missouri (April 2-4), Eastern Kentucky (April 17-19), and UT Martin (May 1-3) will complete the road conference schedule.
On their home field, APSU will play reigning OVC champs Jacksonville State (March 13-15), Tennessee Tech (March 27-29), Belmont (April 10-12), Morehead State (April 24-26), and SIU Edwardsville (May 5-10).
But the season won’t end after hosting Edwardsville. After returning from Lipscomb, the Govs will go to Evansville for two games, then come back to host the Bisons for senior day on May 15 to conclude the regular season.
Photo: Garrett Copeland (Corey Adams/The All State)