APSU Baseball responded to losing Friday’s tilt 11-3 with not one, but two defining wins. The Govs drew the series level 11-3 behind the arm of Jacques Pucheu and found a winner on Sunday’s 14-2 onslaught. The series gave the Govs (14-12) a head-to-head win over Belmont and putting them into first in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The star on of the weekend had to be Pucheu. The senior lefty struck out 11 batters on four hits through eight innings. From Gulfport, Mississippi, Pucheu allowed only one run while moving to 4-0 on the mound in 2019.
The lone run given up by Pucheu was an eighth-inning home run from Tommy Crider. The Bruins added to more in the ninth against Nolan Monaghan off the bats of Hunter Holland and Hagan Severance.
On the other side of the innings, APSU had no problem getting their bats to work.
Three lead off singles followed by a Garrett Spain walk meant the Govs had a 1-0 lead before the Bruins could record an out. When Belmont did find their footing and forcing Parker Phillips to fly out the Govs added a second run from Garrett Kueber to make it 2-0. The Govs had a 4-0 lead at the end of the first.
David Martinez and Phillips totaled three hits and 2 RBIs each while Gino Avros and Bobby Head combined for four on their end. Head lead the game with three RBIs.
Martinez, Phillips and Head all homered in the win.
Final stats from the win are available here.
The Gov bats stayed hot moving into the final game of the series.
Parker Phillips blasted his 40th career home run over the left field wall to give APSU a lead they would not relinquish. Phillips is the first player to hit 40 home runs in program history.
When the Bruins forced themselves back into the game by a 3-2 scoreline, APSU found a response.
Martinez scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch, pushing the Govs to a two-run lead. One batter later, Matt Joslin ripped a single to left field scoring Phillips and Spain and giving the Govs a firm 6-2 lead.
A seven-run eighth inning secured APSU the win. The Govs scored three runs from their hitting prowess while Belmont’s struggles on the mound brought in four runs through a combination of walks, hit batters and wild pitches.
Spain finished the night as the Govs leading hitter with four of his own. APSU totaled 12 hits on 33 at-bats. Joslin led the game with three RBIs.
Final stats from the Govs 14-2 win are available here.
APSU will be back in action on Friday, April 5, to kick off the weekend away series at Eastern Kentucky.
