Austin Peay, Stetson baseball coaches get heated as Govs eliminated from ASUN tournament

Austin Peay baseball fell to Stetson 5-3 in the Atlantic Sun tournament Thursday, eliminating it from contention for the conference championship and automatic NCAA tournament bid.

After the game, Governors coach Roland Fanning and Stetson coach Steve Trimper exchanged words at home plate, and the two had to be separated by others on the scene.

On May 17, APSU had clinched at least a share of the ASUN regular-season championship with an 8-3 win over North Alabama. The team's X account, formerly Twitter, posted a graphic calling the Governors "2024 ASUN REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS."

However, APSU lost 14-13 to North Alabama in the regular-season finale, while Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast both won their games to tie the Govs with a 20-10 conference record. On X, Trimper responded to the Governors' graphic by posting "Whoops!!!!" with the hashtags #premature and #jumpthegun.

Austin Peay still received the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which was hosted by Stetson. But the Govs lost 13-3 to FGCU on Tuesday, and Thursday's loss to the Hatters meant they no longer had a chance to advance to the semifinals from the round-robin Pool A.

Stetson's Aric McAtee struck out Austin Peay catcher Gus Freeman to end the game, getting the call on a 3-2 pitch that seemed to hit the bottom border of the strike zone. Freeman had started to jog to first when umpire Brian Hale called the pitch a strike, and started to argue the call before Governors coaches got to him.

Trimper arrived behind home plate to shake hands with APSU coaches, but appeared confused when Fanning did not come out right away. Instead, a heated Fanning pushed past an ASUN official to address Trimper, which escalated into an argument between them.

"The events following today's ASUN baseball tournament game do not represent the best of Austin Peay athletics," APSU athletic director Gerald Harrison said in a statement. "Regardless of the comments or actions of others, as Governors we must and should ascend to a higher level of class and sportsmanship. We remain proud of Coach Fanning and our baseball team, who have enjoyed an exceptional season and brought the first regular-season baseball championship to Clarksville since 2013. These coaches and student-athletes are proud to be Clarksville's hometown team. As such, we are committed to using our passion, energy, and grit in a positive manner regardless of opponent or outcome."

Austin Peay will finish its season Friday against Kennesaw State. Under Fanning, a second-year coach, the Governors are 35-21 this season, their most victories since 2013. As a team, they lead the nation with a .359 batting average, 146 home runs and 10.86 runs per game.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Austin Peay, Stetson baseball coaches get into heated confrontation