Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball Competes At Prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic This Weekend
02/23/2005 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Feb. 23, 2005
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
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CARBONDALE, Ill. - For the second straight weekend Southern Illinois (3-4) will face at least two ranked teams, when the Salukis travel to the 10th version of the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic at South Commons Stadium & Complex in Columbus, Ga. on Feb. 25-27.
"This is one of, if not the premiere tournament you can be invited to. I'm excited about this tournament and our opponents. You accept the invite and know going in that there will be tough competition, and it will only make you better. I told the kids that we can't get caught up in wins or losses right now. You have to go out and try to play with poise," said Kerri Blaylock, SIU head coach.
Of the 24 teams in the field, 11 are currently ranked and 20 played in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. SIU will face three 2004 NCAA Tournament teams in pool play alone, opening Friday against South Carolina (8-6) at 10 a.m., followed by #15 Georgia Tech (13-0) at 5:30 p.m.
The Salukis play 2004 Women's College World Series participant #8 Michigan (8-1) on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and begin bracket play at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon. SIU will continue bracket play on Sunday at a time to be determined later.
Southern Illinois made its only other appearance at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in 1999. The Salukis compiled a 2-4 record and reached the consolation finals of the Silver Bracket. SIU beat Boston College (2-1) and Michigan State (4-1) and suffered losses to South Carolina (3-1), Fresno State (1-0 & 4-0) and Colorado State (5-2) in Kerri Blaylock's last year as an assistant, prior to becoming head coach at SIU.
Last weekend, the Salukis lost one-run games to #1 California (1-0) and #14 Florida (3-2), beat Michigan State 4-3 and lost to UNLV 6-2 at the UNLV Invitational Tournament. Blaylock knows that her team is close to winning against the top teams in the country, but also wants her team to play at a consistent level every game.
"We want to play at a high level the whole season, whether it's #1 California or an MVC team or other non-conference opponent. We have to play the same all the time. If we play like we did against California, we'll be in pretty good shape. We just have to shore up some things defensively, and that will come with game experience," added Blaylock.
"Some of these one-run games will turn into wins for us if we keep playing hard. We've been in a position to win all our games and we have to realize that we're doing pretty well against great teams. It's just preparing us for the rest of the season."
Although SIU is off to a 3-4 start, Blaylock is happy with the way her team is hitting so far this season and feels time will help get everyone acclimated on defense (8 errors, .957 fielding percentage).
"I'm pretty pleased with the bats. I thought we'd be better and I think we are better. We'll be playing more games and mid-week games, so we'll get the experience we need to get a lot better on defense," stated Blaylock.
"The freshmen are really stepping up, so they deserve a chance to play. We just have to get comfortable in defensive situations. We wanted to play a good schedule to see where we're at and seven games into the season I feel pretty good."
The Salukis are led by Kelly Creek (.476, 2 doubles, 7 RBI), Ashley Hamby (.429), Tiffanie Dismore (.385, HR, 3 RBI) and Chelsea Petty (.333, HR) at the plate and a pitching staff with a 2.00 ERA.
All of Southern Illinois' games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic will be scored live on Gametracker at www.siusalukis.com. South Carolina will broadcast its game against SIU at www.uscsports.com (click on audio).
