Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball to Open Season at Mississippi State Bulldog Classic
02/13/2002 | 12:00:00 | Softball
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Feb. 13, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University's softball team opens its 2002 season this weekend at the Mississippi State Bulldog Classic. The three-day, round robin tournament runs Friday-Sunday, Feb. 15-17.
SIU, who makes its second straight trip to the Bulldog Classic, will begin play on Friday against Southern Mississippi (11 a.m.) and Mississippi State (1 p.m.). On Saturday, the Salukis will then square off against Mississippi State (10 a.m.) and Colorado State (4 p.m.), before conluding with one final game against the Rams (11 a.m.) Sunday.
Of the four schools participating in this year's event, SIU stands as the only team that hasn't played a softball game yet this season.
Host Mississippi State appears to be the favorite in this year's pool of competitors as the Bulldogs have knocked off No. 1 Arizona (7-1) and No. 17 Southwest Texas State (8-1) en route to their early 4-0 start.
Junior outfielder Jennifer Nelson currently leads the Bulldogs batting .750 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI. Kasey Whitehead, who is off to a 3-0 start inside the circle, then leads the MSU pitching staff with 15 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, Southern Mississippi stands at 2-0 after a season-opening, two-game sweep over McNeese State (2-1, 3-1) on Feb. 12. The Lady Eagles, who were ranked second in the 2002 Conference USA Preseason Poll, are spearheaded by pitcher Felicia Gonzales who is the league's reigning Pitcher of the Year. Gonzales, who was tabbed to garner the prestigious award again this season, finished the 2001 campaign with a 29-10 record.
The Salukis enter their 2002 schedule preseason ranked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Coming off a 36-19 campaign a year ago, the Saluki pitching staff will vye to keep its impressive streak alive this season. Last season marked the fifth straight year the Dawgs have led the MVC in ERA (1.30), while ranking nationally (21st).
With the loss of Third-Team All-American and 2001 MVC Pitcher of the Year Erin Stremsterfer, freshman Amy Harre and juniors Katie Kloess and Renee Mueller will handle pitching responsibilities for the Salukis this season. Harre (4-0) and Mueller (3-0) each went undefeated in the fall, while Kloess looks to have a breakout year after posting an even 7-7 mark last year. Local Nashville, Ill., product Harre, however, will most likely be the Dawgs' ace hurler.
Rounding out the event is Colorado State who is currently 1-4 on the year. The Rams, who posted their only win of the season over MVC foe Southwest Missouri State (3-2) on Feb. 9, are led by Melanie Mahoney who is batting .500 with two doubles and one RBI.
This year marks the second straight time the Salukis will open their season at the Mississippi State Bulldog Classic. Bad weather limited SIU to just two of its five scheduled games a year ago, including a 3-2 upset over then-ranked No. 23 Mississippi State.
Prior to last year's debut at the Bulldog Classic, SIU had opened its season at the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, La., for four straight years.
Preseason Notes: For the first time in her career, senior catcher Karrie Fortman garnered all-conference honors as she was the only Saluki to be named to this year's preseason All-MVC Team. SIU will be challenged by a number of NCAA Tournament teams this year, including Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi and Florida Atlantic. The Dawgs will also square off against both Iowa and Florida State. The Hawkeyes were a World Series team last season, while the Seminoles fell one game shy of the big dance. Kerri Blaylock is 77-41, 26-18 (MVC) heading into her third season as head coach of the Salukis. SIU has faced each of this year's Bulldog Classic opponents on at least one occasion in the past. Between the three teams combined, the Salukis trail by a total of 1-3. Posting their only win over Mississippi State (3-2) on Feb. 16 last season, the Dawgs are 1-0 against the Bulldogs, 0-2 against Colorado State and 0-1 against Southern Mississippi. SIU will sport a scrappy bunch of five freshmen on this year's unit, tabbed by Blaylock as "one of the best recruiting classes in SIU softball history."
