Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball Opens MVC Play Against Bradley This Weekend
03/26/2004 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
March 26, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Preseason-picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois (4-13) opens league play when it hosts Bradley (11-4) in a four-game series this weekend. The Salukis and Braves will play noon doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday.
SIU's four games this weekend mark the end of a seven-game homestand, which began when nationally-ranked Notre Dame visited "The Abe," on Mar. 20-21.
SIU should be geared up for conference play after facing some top-notch competition to open its 2004 campaign.
Through its first 16 games, SIU was listed as having the 35th toughest schedule out of 266 NCAA Division I Baseball teams who played at least 10 games, according to Boyd's World.com.
The Salukis opened the year playing nine of their current 17 contests against Top-25 opponents, including Florida Atlantic, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. SIU went 1-8 in those matchups, as only two were played on its home diamond.
Now you can see why living up to its preseason MVC billing means a lot to SIU, who looks to have a much better start to a whole new season.
SIU, who has won four of its last five games, including a recent 6-5 victory over SE Missouri State (3/23), brings a red-hot offense into this weekend's Valley debut.
Hitting .263 on the year, the Saluki offense has done some serious damage over its last nine games, where it has recorded a total of 107 hits. Averaging 11.9 per game over that span, the Dawgs also registered 10 or more hits in all but two of those outings.
Sophomore Nathan Emrick is one of the main reasons why the Dawgs have had so much offensive success as of late.
SIU's most versatile player, Emrick is currently on a nine-game hitting streak and has recorded two or more hits in six of his last nine contests. A native of Griggsville, Ill., he is hitting a team-best .365 and ranks among the Salukis' top-three in several offensive categories.
Meanwhile, BU has won five of its last six games, including four straight. However, three of its last four wins have come against either a NAIA or NCAA Division III opponent.
Prior to beating Saint Louis University (3/24), BU made light work of Westminister (Pa.), 11-2, on Mar. 19 and Wisconsin-Stout (6-1, 13-1) on Mar. 21.
Offensively, Ryan Curry (.452) and Brad Canada (.408) top the Braves, who are hitting .337 on the year.
Pitching wise, BU holds a 2.91 ERA as a staff, which is led by Derek Goins. Goins holds a 3-1 record and a 1.88 ERA in four appearances this season. He has also posted 13 strikeouts to three walks in 24 innings.
In addition, the Braves were tabbed last in this year's MVC Preseason Poll.
SIU holds a 65-53 advantage in its overall series against BU. The Salukis registered a 3-1 series win over the Braves a year ago in Peoria, where Greg Andrews hit .375 with five runs, two doubles, a home run and three RBI during his last time playing in his hometown as a Saluki.
Left-hander Eric Haberer (1-0, 3.44 ERA) will start the series on the mound for SIU, while right-hander Marshall Tucker (0-4, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Saturday's nightcap.
The last time Haberer started on the hill, he defeated nationally-ranked Notre Dame on Mar. 20, where he allowed six hits, gave up three runs, issued one walk and recorded one strikeout in 6.2 innings of work. He also went three innings without allowing a run, and no-hit a solid Irish offense in three straight frames.
All four games of the SIU and BU series will be broadcast live on 1020 WCIL-AM. The broadcasts can also be heard at www.siusalukis.com. Live stats for all those games will be available at the Salukis' web site as well.
