CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball is set for a four-game road swing as they travel to Appalachian State on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference tilt. Following the midweek showdown, Queens will head west for a three-game series against Austin Peay over the weekend. The return to Clarksville will be Queens head coach Jake Hendrick's first since departing as the pitching coach last season.
 
QUEENS ROYALS (4-16 overall, 0-3 ASUN)

• Queens is looking to bounce back this week as they were swept in a three-game series in their conference opening weekend against North Florida. The Royals enter the new week on a seven-game losing skid.
• Left fielder Dillon Lewis is off to a hot start for the Royals in the 2024 campaign. The junior has totaled a team-leading 28 hits on the season, including five home runs, and four doubles. Across 20 games, the Charlotte native is batting a team-leading .350 which ranks 14^th in the ASUN.
• JJ Sousa is the Royals leading slugger as he has smashed six home runs, two doubles, and a triple on the season. Sousa has nearly tripled his extra-base total from last year already as he hit three doubles across the entire 2023 campaign.
• Senior catcher Tyler Cotto has appeared in 18-of-20 games for the Royals. Cotto has found his form at the plate as he is slugging .542 which is nearly 200 points higher than last season.
• The Royals offense is built around the long ball as Queens is second in the ASUN with 31 home runs. The Royals have blasted multiple home runs in seven games this year.
• Kansas State transfer Landry Jurecka has been the go-to Friday night guy for the Royals pitching staff. The sophomore has tossed 26.2 innings and leads the team with 30 strikeouts. Against North Florida, Jurecka allowed one earned run across 5.0 innings while striking out four batters.
• The pitching staff has struggled all season preventing free passes allowing a league-low 147 walks and 42 hit-by-pitches.

 
 
APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS (12-6 overall, 1-2 Sun Belt)

• Tuesday's matchup will be a rematch of last week's matchup at Atrium Health Ballpark between the Mountaineers and the Royals. The Mountaineers took the game by a score of 14-5 and improved to 4-1 all-time in the series.
• The Mountaineers are coming off a series loss in their opening conference series to Texas State. Texas State took game one in a close one, 3-2, before clinching the series in decisive 17-7 fashion on Saturday. App State would respond with a bounce-back 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
• Outfielder Banks Tolley leads the Mountaineers offensive attack with 11 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, and four doubles. The senior has recorded a hit in 16-of-19 contests as he began the year on an eight-game hitting streak. 
• Senior CJ Boyd is tied for the team lead in home runs belting seven on the year. The Lewisville, North Carolina native has six multi-hit performances on the season.
• Drew Holderbach is a steadying presence for the Mountaineers. The grad student is batting a team-leading .339 on the season, with a team-leading six doubles. Coming into Tuesday night's matchup, Holderbach has recorded a hit in 13-of-15 games.
• The App State pitching staff struggles limiting the long ball. The Mountaineers' pitching staff has given up 29 home runs on the season which is the most across the Sun Belt.

 
AUSTIN PEAY GOVERNORS (13-6 overall, 2-1 ASUN)

• The Governors are looking to continue to build momentum as they enter the second week of conference play as they took 2-of-3 from Lipscomb last weekend. After the Bisons took game one, Austin Peay stormed back to win Saturday and Sunday's matchups in divisive fashion outscoring Lipscomb 23-7.
• Austin Peay boasts the best offense in the ASUN with a conference-leading .325 batting average. The Governors have also belted the most home runs of any team in the conference with 37.
• Lyle Miller-Green is the leader of the offensive attack for Austin Peay. The grad student has blasted a conference-leading 10 home runs on the year as well as scorching five doubles on the season. The Buke, Virginia native also plays both ways for the Governors as he has made four appearances on the bump. Across 18.1 innings of action, Miller-Green has struck out 12 batters.
• Redshirt junior infielder Jon Jon Gazdar is one of the most consistent hitters in the ASUN. Gazdar is second in the league with a .413 batting average and ranks top-five in the conference in on-base percentage. The California native has reached base safely in 18-of-19 contests this year.
• Redshirt senior Andrew Devine has been electric on the bump for the Governors. In five starts, he has a 2.32 ERA with 36 strikeouts giving up only seven walks across 31.0 innings of work.
• Austin Peay's pitching staff can overpower their opponents striking out 178 batters, a mark that is second in the league.

 
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