FLORENCE, Ala. (May 13, 2026) – The University of North Alabama baseball team welcomes Austin Peay for the final regular season series of the season at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium, beginning on Thursday, May 14 at 7 p.m.
  
Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast. All three games are streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray leading the charge all three games. He will be joined by his partners, Greg Larnerd on Thursday, and Grant Wakefield on Friday and Saturday. Gyvan Hammons will serve as sideline reporter for all three games. 

All links are made available through RoarLions.com. 

Also, all weekend long, fans can enjoy complimentary beverages provided by Clubtails. The Clubtails happy hour begins at first pitch of every game and will be available Thursday-Saturday. 

North Alabama vs. Austin Peay
Thursday, May 14, 2026
7 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

North Alabama at Austin Peay – Purple Out/Furry Friend Friday
Friday, May 15, 2026
7 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

North Alabama at Austin Peay – Senior Day
Sunday, May 16, 2026
2 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

NOTES
  
THE RUNDOWN: The UNA baseball team dropped the final midweek game of the season to Murray State by a decision of 9-5 on Tuesday at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park in Murray, Ky. In the first inning, senior designated hitter Dylan Coleman hit his 16th home run of the season. He now stands solely in second place at the Division I level for home runs in a season, behind teammate Nash Rippen. North Alabama used three more runs in the top of the third to create the five runs. Wes Walker singled to score Tyler LePage while Cayden Sheffield and Justin Santoyo hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to cross the final two. 

SERIES HISTORY: This weekend will mark the 33rd, 34th and 35th all-time meetings between the two programs dating back to 1982. This storied matchup travels all the way back to 1951, under then head coach George Weeks. The Lions took the first-ever game at home, 6-2.  North Alabama went to Clarksville and swept the Govs earlier this season, a first-time accomplishment for a Govs opponent since FGCU in 2023. Austin Peay took the season series a year ago, 4-2, as the Govs went on to win the Gold Division. However, North Alabama was the only team to take a series win over APSU in 2025 through conference play. When at home, the Lions are 9-5 against the Govs since 1982 and 5-2 since the transition to Division I. UNA has seen APSU each year since 2023 for conference matchups — going 3-2 in series. In 2023 and 2024, these two squared off for one series each while 2025 saw the move to ASUN divisional play where the two competed twice. UNA took the first series in 2023, lost the second in 2024 and split the two series in 2025. 

SCOUTING THE GOVS: Austin Peay is coming off a run rule win last Sunday against conference foe, Eastern Kentucky, 15-2. Last time these two programs met, Austin Peay was 16-17 overall. Since then, the Govs added eight wins to come out to 24-27 ahead of the weekend. The Govs secured a spot in the ASUN postseason tournament after their most recent victory. APSU is 14-13 in conference play and 12-17 away from Clarksville. Four batters hit over .300 in the lineup in Andres Matias (.309), Ray Velazquez (.303), Paris Pridgen (.328) and Zion Taylor (.330). This is the first road series since April 24th for Austin Peay when it last competed at Lipscomb. 

WINNER, WINNER: Head coach Jad Prachniak has propelled North Alabama to year-over-year results since taking the title in 2023. Each season Prachniak has led the Lions to a better overall record and more conference wins each season. In year one, he had 14 wins with eight conference wins and leveled up with 18 wins and the first double-digit conference total (10) in year two. In 2025, Prachniak led UNA to their first 20-win season in Division I history with 16 wins through conference play. Now, in 2026, he has 25 total wins — the most in Division I history thus far — and the opportunity to break the most conference wins in a season with one more. 

CONFERENCE ELEVATION: As conference play starts to close down, nine players made their mark in a specific area during the conference slate. Bryant Loving, Tyler LePage, Cayden Sheffield, Justin Santoyo, Dylan Coleman, Petey Craska, Jackson Westmoreland, Nash Rippen and Wes Walker have all elevated their batting average during ASUN play from non-conference play. Six of those nine players hit .300 or better when squaring off with conference opponents as Rippen leads the group with his .333 and Walker has a .324. Walker leads the team with 10 of his 13 home runs coming during conference. 

BUDDING HOMERS: Petey Craska blasted three home runs against Bellarmine on Friday, May 1. Will Millard had a go-ahead home run against Central Arkansas on Saturday, May 9. Both of these home run outings gave the pair of players nine total home runs over the 2026 season. The Lions had not had a pair of players with double-digit home runs since 2000 -- after Wes Walker joined the double-digit club, it became the first time in school history UNA had three in the same season. Both Craska and Millard are one home run away from being the fourth, or even, the fifth members of the double-digit home run club this season. 

WON & ONE?: The Lions boast a 16-11 record in conference play, the fifth-best mark in the ASUN. However, ASUN Tournament play seeding is determined through RPI based on the seeding. The top division finishers are both the one and two seeds determined by RPI while second-place finishers are the third and fourth seeds based on RPI. The five through eighth seeds will be determined by RPI then matched up with a cross-division opponents. Currently, North Alabama sits as the seventh seed in the tournament based on RPI and their current third-place standing in the Gold Division. However, things can quickly change as Lipscomb plays Central Arkansas and FGCU battles Jacksonville this upcoming weekend. UNA can finish as high as first-place in the Gold Division (second-seed overall) or fourth-place (eight-seed overall).

SENIOR SATURDAY: As the final home series arrives, 16 seniors will take the diamond at Mike D. Lane Field one final time. Ten pitchers, five position players and a student manager will be recognized during the ceremony ahead of the game. The 16 seniors combined for 38 seasons wearing the purple and white with four seniors spending four seasons in Florence; Justus Agosto, Justin Battle, Jackson Cheek and Cason Billings. Notable names include weekend starter Agosto alongside Division I record breakers Gavin Oswald and Nash Rippen, This also includes Leighton Jenkins, Dylan Coleman, Justin Santoyo, first-year transfers Tyler Rice, Sawyer Toney, and Carlos Carmona and veteran leaders John Allen Stogner, Ryan West, Landon Scruggs and Hunter Bell.

UP NEXT: After Austin Peay, the Lions will await seeding from the Atlantic Sun Conference to see their round one matchup. The Lions have already clinched a spot in the postseason tournament for the second consecutive season.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.