Stetson and Austin Peay baseball coaches have fiery argument after ASUN tournament game

Things got a little chippy at the end of Stetson's win over Austin Peay in the Atlantic Sun baseball tournament. Could a lingering Twitter beef have had something to do with it?

Stetson beat Austin Peay 5-3 on Thursday in a pivotal game in ASUN tournament pool play in DeLand. After the game ended, video posted to social media showed Governors head coach Roland Fanning and Hatters coach Steve Trimper going face-to-face in a shouting match near home plate. Fanning smacks Trimper's hand away from his chest and is led back to Austin Peay's dugout, with Trimper following him to continue the discussion. Fanning is held back by multiple staffers while players are shown being separated on the infield.

The skirmish is the latest chapter in what may have been a bubbling feud between Stetson and Austin Peay.

Stetson baseball coach Steve Trimper mocks Austin Peay on Twitter

The two teams, along with Florida Gulf Coast, finished tied for the ASUN regular-season title. But after their win May 17, the Governors' social media account posted they were the regular-season champions.

The ASUN followed up the following day with posts naming the three teams co-champions, and Trimper took the opportunity to have a laugh at his conference rivals. In reposting Austin Peay's initial tweet, the Stetson coach wrote, "Whoops!!!! #premature #jumpthegun."

Explaining the ASUN baseball tournament's unique format

Despite the co-champion snafu, Austin Peay still claimed the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament. But that doesn't mean what it does in other conferences.

Most other leagues play a double-elimination format with seeding based on regular-season records. The ASUN, however, switched to a new hybrid format in 2022. The top four teams are placed in one pool and play a round-robin tournament, with the three teams with the best records advancing to the semifinals. The final slot is filled by the winner of a double-elimination tournament between the No. 5-8 teams in the other pool.

Thursday's loss gave Austin Peay two in their pool and effectively ended their chances at advancing to the semifinals. The teams all play one more game Friday, but the seeds are determined by the NCAA's RPI rankings, and the Governors have the lowest ranking (153) among Kennesaw State, Stetson and FGCU (84, 113 and 120, respectively). On top of that, they've already lost to the two teams in the pool with a loss in Stetson and FGCU.

So it's understandable why tensions were high after Thursday's game.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Austin Peay-Stetson baseball game ends with dustup between coaches