Low scores were plentiful in the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference Golf Championships as solid playing brought the field together for what will be an exciting last day.

In the men’s tournament, both the team and high individuals fell on hard luck rounds as Samford fell from first to third.

The good news for the top four teams (Austin Peay, Murray State, Samford and Eastern Kentucky) is the margin from top to fourth is only 10 strokes. This tight pack at the top will make for a highly competitive shootout in the final round.

The Bulldogs recorded only one under-par round and carded a disappointing 8-over-par 296 to counter its 1-under 287.

Austin Peay overtook the day-two lead and was led by sophomore Yoshio Yamamoto (74-69 143). The Mexico native placed himself in a tie for third individually by shooting a 3-under par 69.

Murray State’s Jamie Frazer (72-68 140) assumed the lead, and the junior is two strokes ahead of Tennessee State Phillip Watkins (71-71 142). Frazer and Watkins are the only two players to shoot a pair of even-par rounds.

First round leader Justin Metzger (69-76 145) fell down the leaderboard after a frustrating 4-over-par 76. The Austin Peay sophomore is at 1-over and must make a four-shot comeback to win his first college event.

Ironically, the only two prior champions in the field, Jacksonville State’s Matias Anselmo and Tennessee State’s Robert Dinwiddie, will be paired together in the finale and look to build on each other’s momentum to make a six-shot comeback. The two seniors are at 2-over-par 146, and a victory would mark the biggest comeback in OVC history.

Eastern sits in last place, 17 strokes behind 10th place Tennessee State, and looks to be finishing the season finale in the cellar.

The good news for Jacksonville State junior and first round leader Shanelle Howell is that she’s still in the Top 10. The bad news for the South African native is that after posting a 91, she is 13 strokes behind the leader, making a comeback nearly impossible.

Howell and everybody else will be chasing Eastern Kentucky senior Brittany Klein. Klein (74-76 150) is six strokes clear of the field with defending champion Nikki Orazine (76-80 156) from Murray State in the second spot.

Klien will have double motivation as the Colonels are leading the team competition by a trio of strokes over Tennessee Tech and four in front of Jacksonville State.

The biggest jump was made by Tennessee Tech’s Beth Underhill (86-71 157). The junior from the Volunteer State shot an 86 in the opening round and managed to turn around her second round by 15 shots to shoot a tournament best 71.

Eastern has four players in the Top 20 and is solidly in fourth place.