CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (May 15, 2024) – The University of North Alabama baseball team closes out the regular season with a three-game series against Austin Peay on May 16-18 in Clarksville, Tenn. The Lions take on the first place Governors with a chance to secure a spot in the 2024 ASUN Championship.
Live stats for all three games will be available via StatBroadcast, while live video will be available via ESPN+.
North Alabama at Austin Peay
Thursday, May 16, 2024
6 p.m.
North Alabama at Austin Peay
Friday, May 17, 2024
2 p.m.
North Alabama at Austin Peay
Saturday, May 18, 2024
1 p.m.
NOTES
The Lion King: North Alabama starting pitcher
Jacob James struck out eight batters on Friday, May 19 against North Florida, tying Chad Boughner for the most career strikeouts in program history. He enters the series with Austin Peay having struck out 280 batters in his UNA career. With one strikeout in the final three games of the season, James will be in sole possession of first place on the UNA all-time career strikeout leaderboard.
Farewell to "The Mike": The University of North Alabama baseball team played the final games at Mike D. Lane Field on May 10-12 against North Florida. Former head coaches Mike Lane and Mike Keehn were honored with a pre-game ceremony. With construction on a new playing surface to begin this summer as part of the Bank Independent Stadium project, this game marked the final game to be played at Mike D. Lane Field. The new baseball facility is set to open for the 2025 baseball season.
Postseason Hopes: Entering the final regular season series, the Lions are still in the hunt to make the first ASUN postseason appearance in program history. UNA has been a member of the ASUN Conference since making the move to Division I in the summer of 2018. The top eight teams in the conference will participate in the ASUN Championship in DeLand, Fla. hosted by Stetson.
Climbing the Ladder: With three games remaining in the season, UNA has already set the mark for most wins in a season at the Division I level. The Lions have won 17 games this season, edging the previous best mark set in 2019 by one game. North Alabama head baseball coach Jad Prachniak is in his second season with the program and also boasts the most ASUN wins in a season with nine this season
April Showers: In the month of April, the University of North Alabama baseball team strung together some of the best offensive numbers of the Division I era. The Lions put up the best numbers in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (.476) in 16 games during April.
Big Fly Frei: UNA infielder
Gehrig Frei leads the team with 15 home runs so far this season. The redshirt sophomore has appeared in 51 games for UNA and has already hit the most home runs by a UNA batter in Division I program history. He is just two shy of tying the North Alabama record for most home runs in a season with 17, set by Mike Burns (1989) and D.J. Harris (1993).
A Record Weekend: North Alabama set multiple Division I offensive program records against Bellarmine on April 13-14. UNA tallied 48 runs in three games, the most in a series since 2006. The Lions also set new single-game Division I program records for runs (22), hits (23), total bases (36) and margin of victory (19) in Sunday's match.
Mr. 300: Prachniak picked up his 300th career win on Sunday, April 14 against Bellarmine, 22-3. Prachniak came to UNA with 273 career victories at Division II West Chester, where he won two NCAA Division II National Championships. Prachniak is in his second season at the helm of the UNA Baseball program.
Scouting the Governors: Entering the series with North Alabama, Austin Peay boasts a 33-18 record, including an 18-9 record in ASUN play. The Governors are in first place in the ASUN with just three games remaining in the season. As a team, Austin Peay flaunts one of the best offenses in the country, ranking first in all of NCAA Division I baseball in batting average (.359), doubles (140), hits (671), home runs (140), runs (568), on base percentage (.456) and slugging percentage (.670).
Austin Peay Series History: UNA and APSU have met 20 times since 1984, with six meetings coming since UNA made the move to Division I in 2019. UNA leads the all-time series 13-7 while the Lions and Govs have split the Division I series 3-3. Austin Peay has taken both meetings played in Clarksville since 2019. The Lions topped the Governors last season with a 2-1 series victory to close out the year.
