Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball Visits No. 15 Mississippi This Weekend
02/23/2005 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2005
Ole Miss Series Notes in PDF Format
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By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.-Southern Illinois (4-2) looks to keep its winning streak alive when it visits No. 15 Mississippi (4-1) for a three-game series this weekend. The Salukis and Rebels play Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m., CST.
Since losing by a run (10-9) at Stetson on Feb. 12, SIU has heated up to win four in a row. Recently, the Salukis swept New Orleans on Feb. 18-20, winning by scores of 5-2, 8-1 and 15-2.
Broadcast Information
Live audio and live stats for all three games between SIU and Ole Miss can be accessed on the internet.
Access Live Audio and Gametracker Here
Series History
SIU is 1-9 all-time against Ole Miss. Both teams met for the first time at the 1969 College World Series, where the Rebels posted a 8-1 win to eliminate the Dawgs.
Two years later, the Salukis recorded their only win of the series, when they edged the Rebels, 5-4, in 1971.
SIU opened its 1992, 1994 and 1995 seasons against Ole Miss. The Salukis lost two games in each of those years. The 1995 season marked Dan Callahan's first as head coach.
Ole Miss scored 10 or more runs against SIU in six of the 10 matchups. The Rebels' largest win over the Salukis was a 16-0 blanking in 1992. The shutout is one of three in the series for Ole Miss, who also beat SIU, 10-0, in 1994 and, 8-0, in 1995.
Against the SEC
SIU has faced eight of the 12 schools in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC is listed as the number one college baseball conference in the country, according to Baseball America. The Pac-10 and Atlantic Coast Conferences round out the top three.
The Salukis are 28-29 all-time against SEC schools. The last time SIU played a SEC opponent was Feb. 20-22, 2004, where the Salukis were swept in a three-game series at Vanderbilt.
In addition to Ole Miss (1-9), SIU has played Auburn (1-0), LSU (5-1), Alabama (2-0), Arkansas (7-3), Kentucky (7-9), Florida (2-2) and Vanderbilt (3-5).
The SEC earned a record nine regional bids for the second time in conference history in 2004. With 10 teams in Baseball America's preseason Top-50 this season, the SEC legitimately has 10 or 11 teams that will challenge for postseason berths this year.
The Coaches
Dan Callahan (Quincy College, `81; SIU, `87) is 255-301-1 in his 11th season at the helm of the Saluki Baseball program. Callahan has guided the Dawgs to the MVC Tournament Championship in each of the last two seasons.
Mike Bianco (LSU, `89) is in his fifth season with the Rebels. He is 154-91-1 at Ole Miss and has a career record of 254-162-1 in seven years as a collegiate head coach.
Scouting the Rebels
No. 15 (Sports Weekly/ESPN; Baseball America) Ole Miss is off to a 4-1 start this season.
The Rebels' only loss of the year came against No. 10 Rice University at the Coca-Cola Invitational on Feb. 19.
Ole Miss recently hosted Belmont in midweek action on Feb. 22, where it won 18-0. Tuesday's game opened an 18-game homestand for the Rebels.
The Rebels are 28-9 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State was the last Valley team to beat Ole Miss on May 31, 2003. That year, the Shockers won, 5-4, at the NCAA Houston Regional.
Junior 1B/LHP Stephen Head earned first-team preseason All-America honors as a utility player from Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He also garnered first-team preseason All-America honors by Baseball America as a first baseman. Additionally, Head was named the preseason SEC Co-Player-of-the-Year by SEBaseball.com.
Junior RHP Mark Holliman was selected as a third-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Holliman and Head will be the Rebels' one-two punch on the mound this weekend. Holliman will start Friday, while Head takes the mound Saturday.
Something's Brewing
Matt Brewer (Springfield, Ill.) hit .467 (7-for-15) with three runs scored, a pair of doubles, a triple and a grand slam to lead SIU to a three-game sweep of New Orleans last weekend.
Brewer, who hails from Springfield, Ill., is one of two returning starters to the Saluki outfield this season, but currently serves as the Salukis' designated hitter after sustaining an injury to his throwing arm.
He registered multiple-hits in all three games against the Privateers, and capped off his series with a monster game Sunday, where he narrowly missed hitting for the cycle by going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a grand slam home run, one triple and six RBI.
Brewer's six RBI marked a career-high, as he extended his hitting streak to five games.
Brewer ranks atop the MVC in hits (12), triples (1) and total bases (23).
Hit Parade Coming Your Way
Since getting six hits in its season-opener at Stetson on Feb. 11, SIU has gone five straight games with 12 or more hits.
Hitting .311, the Salukis' total of 71 hits are currently the most in the MVC this season. SIU is also one of three Valley teams to be hitting over .300 after six games. Evansville (.332) and Creighton (.310) are the other two.
Nearly half (22) of SIU's 50 runs this season have scored on two-out hits. The Salukis are hitting .333 in two-out situations. Springfield, Ill., natives Matt Brewer (.500) and P.J. Finigan (.600) are hitting at least .500 in two-out scenarios. Brewer is 5-for-10, while Finigan is 3-for-5.
SIU's .311 average is 117 points up from its .194 clip through six games a year ago. In 2004, the Salukis posted double-digit hits on one occasion, and held a six-game total of 38 hits, 33 less than their current mark of 71.
Twenty-six of SIU's 71 hits this season have gone for extra bases. The Dawgs have collected 18 doubles, a triple and seven home runs.
Happy Homerdays
SIU is 2-1 when hitting two or more home runs in a game this season.
Four different Salukis have homered to account for SIU's seven long balls. Matt Brewer (Springfield, Ill.), Chris McCulloch (Topeka, Kan.) and Grant Gerrard (Castle Rock, Colo.) each have two, while Brendan Lutz (Ingleside, Ill.) follows with one.
The home run ball propelled SIU to a 15-2 victory at New Orleans on Feb. 20, where a two-run homer by Lutz, a three-run blast by Gerrard and a grand slam by Brewer plated nine of the Dawgs' runs.
That's No Bull
With SIU's three starting pitchers going seven or more innings against New Orleans last weekend, the Saluki bullpen should be well-rested entering this week's tough test at Ole Miss.
Five Saluki relievers, including Andrew Weber (Peotone, Ill.), Tyler Norrick (Festus, Mo.), Mark Obszanski (Munster, Ind.), Adam Snyder (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Cody Dunbar (Herrin, Ill.) pitched only one inning, and did not allow an earned run.
Weber and Obszanski each had one-two-three innings against the Privateers. Weber retired the UNO side on seven pitches in the bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the season on Feb. 18.
Meanwhile, Obszanski recorded a strikeout, one ground ball out and a fly ball out to sit the Privateers down in the ninth on Feb. 19.
The Dawgs' bullpen boasts a 1.96 ERA and has given up just four earned runs in six appearances.
Quality Starts
While a SIU starting pitcher didn't go more than five innings against Stetson (Feb. 11-13), Saluki starters Bryan Rueger (Mt. Vernon, Ind.), P.J. Finigan (Springfield, Ill.) and Jason Chavez (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) each worked seven or more innings in their respective wins against New Orleans.
A left-hander, Rueger matched the longest outing of his career when he struck out five in eight innings to move to 2-0 on Feb. 18.
Finigan (1-0), a right-hander, struck out four, walked one and allowed a run in a career-high seven innings to pick up his first win of the season on Feb. 19.
Chavez (1-1), who was Friday's starter at Stetson (Feb. 11) threw a one- hitter with four strikeouts in seven innings to polish off the UNO series on Feb. 20.
That rotation will stay the same this weekend at Ole Miss.
On Deck
SIU heads to Murray State for a midweek contest on Wednesday, Mar. 2. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
