Austin Peay State University claimed its third Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship with a 3-2 victory over No. 2 seed Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon. The No. 1 seed Governors (39-20) capped a perfect 3-0 record in the championship and won their second title in three years (2005). The team also won tournament championships in 1996 and 2005.
Austin Peay senior lefty Matt Reynolds was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, after four-hitting Jacksonville State in Friday night's semifinal contest.
APSU head coach Gary McClure also reached a milestone on the night, winning his 600th career game, becoming only the second coach in OVC history to reach that feat.
Jacksonville State played its way into the final game with an exciting 10-8 victory over No. 4 seed Samford in the day's first contest.
With the victory Austin Peay earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, their third in school history. The NCAA bracket will be unveiled at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 28 on ESPN.
2007 O’Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team
INF - Garrett Rice, Samford
INF - Michael Marseco, Samford
INF - Jake Ball, Jacksonville State
INF - Tyler Farrar, Austin Peay
INF - Jake Lane, Austin Peay
OF - Jamie Leidolf, Murray State
OF - Bear Burnett, Samford
OF - Clay Whittemore, Jacksonville State
OF - Rafael Hill, Austin Peay
DH - Brian Piazza, Jacksonville State
UT - Jim Klocke, Southeast Missouri
P - Shawn Kelley, Austin Peay
P - Matt Reynolds, Austin Peay
P - Christian Freidrich, Eastern Kentucky
MVP: Matt Reynolds, Austin Peay
Saturday's Schedule
Game 9 - #2 Jacksonville State 10, #4 Samford 8
Box Score | Live Stats | Live Video | Photo Gallery
Game 10 - #1 Austin Peay 3 vs. #2 Jacksonville State 2
Box Score | Live Stats | Live Video | Photo Gallery
Game 9 ? #2 Jacksonville State 10, #4 Samford 8
PADUCAH, Ky. ? Jacksonville State scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to edge out Samford, 10-8, at the O’Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Championships, Saturday afternoon, at Brooks Stadium. With the win, the Gamecocks advance for a rematch with Austin Peay in the championship game at 4:30 p.m., Saturday.
Trailing, 8-7, the Gamecocks got back-to-back leadoff singles from Bert Smith and Nick Cleckler. Smith would score on an RBI-sacrifice fly by Jake Ball to tie the game and Clay Whittemore was intentionally walked. Allen Rose and Kyle McClearly each knocked RBI-singles to set the final 10-8 margin.
Jacksonville State plated five runs in the bottom of the first and scored single runs in the second and third innings to take an early 7-3 lead.
Samford would tie the game in the seventh inning. Wayne Miller reached on a fielder’s choice and Bill Whitehead rapped a two-out single through the left side, putting runners on first and second. Michael Marseco drew a walk to load the bases and Bear Burnett hit a grand slam, tying the game, 7-7.
Samford scored another run in the eighth inning, going ahead 8-7, but could not hold off Gamecocks.
“I think the heart and the effort that our kids have given this week will become the identity of this program,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “I think, years from now, these seniors will look back on this week as their last one to play, they will see how much fight and how much heart they have, and that will carry over with these guys in whatever field they enter.”
Cleckler, Brian Piazza and Andrew Edge each had multiple hits to lead Jacksonville State, with Cleckler scoring three times. Brett Harris (6-1) picked up the win, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out three.
Burnett and Whitehead each had two hits to lead Samford, Burnett knocking in five runs. Reliever Joseph Edens (4-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs in eighth.
Game 10 ? #1 Austin Peay 3, #2 Jacksonville State 2
PADUCAH, Ky. ? Austin Peay took advantage of a seventh-inning error to post a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in the final of the 2007 O’Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament, Saturday night, at Brooks Stadium.
“This has been a great ride,” Austin Peay head coach Gary McClure said. “Our pitching and defense has been lights out all year. They came together with excellent chemistry put forth a tremendous effort. It’s really been a lot of fun and they’ve been a lot of fun to coach all year. They wanted to win and they found a way to get it done. They’ve shown great discipline in the classroom and on the field.”
Austin Peay (39-20) started the seventh with a J.B. Gilbert single and a sacrifice to move him to second and chase Jacksonville State starter Clark Jinks. Reliever Alex Jones got the ground ball he was looking for, but it was misplayed allowing Rafael Hill to reach safely. After Jacob Crass walked to load the bases, the Govs got a sacrifice fly from Tyler Farrar and a RBI single from Jake Lane to take a 3-2 lead.
Jacksonville State (33-27) led, 2-1, after the first inning. APSU got a lead-off walk to start the game and then scored on Jake Lane’s single. JSU responded with Jake Ball’s RBI double and Allen Rose’s run-scoring fielder’s choice.
“We talked last night about people doing extraordinary things and I think Clark Jinks was extraordinary today,” JSU head coach Jim Case said. “He was so good and gave us an absolute chance to win. I was proud of our guys for not rolling over today when we fell behind.
“We ended up with the winning run as second base and that’s about all you can ask for in that situation when you are trying to comeback. (Mantooth) was just too good. I’m not sure how many he retired in a row but at one point he was really rolling.”
Austin Peay starter Ryne Mantooth (8-3) picked up the victory after allowing two runs on five hits and striking out six over 7.1 innings. Ben Wilshire picked up his season’s ninth save after getting the game’s final five outs. Lane led the Govs offense with a 3-for-5, two-RBI performance.
“Jake Lane has become the difference maker,” McClure said. “Between Jake and Matt Reynolds, I couldn’t be happier for both of them. They both work extremely hard and are very deserving. I’m proud of these guys ? all of them. They’ve earned it.”
Jacksonville State starter Clark Jinks allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits while striking out seven over 6.1 innings. Reliever Alex Jones (2-3) was tagged for the loss after allowing one unearned run on three hits and striking out three over the final 2.2 innings. Brian Piazza had JSU’s only multi-hit performance with a 2-for-4 effort.