Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball Heads to SE Missouri State Thursday
03/09/2005 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
March 9, 2005
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (7-5) squares off against its second Ohio Valley Conference opponent in as many weeks when it crosses the Mississippi River to face Southeast Missouri State (4-7) Thursday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m., at Capaha Field.
SIU and SEMO were initially scheduled to meet Wednesday at 3 p.m., but due to impending bad weather, the game was postponed until tomorrow.
Broadcast Information
Thursday's game between SIU and SEMO can be heard live on the radio and the internet. Locally, you can turn your radio dial to KGIR-AM 1220. Live play-by-play audio can also be accessed on the world wide web at www.kgir.com.
The Series
SIU holds a 36-18 series lead against one of its longtime rivals, SEMO. Both teams met on two occasions a year ago, with the Salukis winning both games by scores of 6-5 in Carbondale and 9-6 in Cape Girardeau. The 2004 campaign marked the first time in five years that SIU beat SEMO twice in one season.
The Coaches
Dan Callahan (Quincy College, '81; SIU, '87) is 258-304-1 in his 11th season at the helm of the Saluki baseball program. Callahan guided SIU to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship game in each of the last two seasons.
Mark Hogan (SEMO, '77) is 252-192-1 in his ninth year as the Redhawks' head coach. Under Hogan's direction, SEMO has become a dominant force in the OVC, where it has appeared in the league's tournament title game in five of the last eight years.
About the Salukis
SIU nearly posted its second three-game sweep of the season in its home-opener against Northern Illinois last weekend. The Dawgs won 6-3 and 6-5 (10), before dropping Sunday's finale, 9-3.
Offensively, the top half of SIU's order is rolling. The Salukis' one through four hitters, consisting of Kevin Koski (.365), P.J. Finigan (.344), Matt Brewer (.396) and Grant Gerrard (.308) have accounted for 52.3 percent of the team's 128 hits this year. The four are also hitting a combined .354 after 12 games this season.
As far as power goes, SIU's three-four punch of Brewer and Gerrard have teamed up for seven of the Dawgs' 10 home runs. The pair recently hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead SIU to a 6-3 comeback win against NIU on Mar. 4. Not to mention, Gerrard leads the MVC in both home runs (4) and RBI (16).
Pitching wise, senior left-hander Bryan Rueger (2-0) will take the mound for the Salukis tomorrow. A native of Mt. Vernon, Ind., Rueger tied a career-high of six strikeouts in seven innings of a no-decision in his last start on Mar. 4. He holds a second-best 17 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of work.
As a team, SIU is hitting .290 on the year and is 6-1 when getting 10 or more hits in a game. At one time this season, the Salukis registered 12 or more hits in six consecutive games (Feb. 12-25). In addition to that stretch, SIU posted double-digit hits on one other occasion, with a season-high of 15 against NIU (Mar. 5).
Scouting the Redhawks
The Redhawks enter Thursday's game at 4-7 overall. SEMO was swept in three games by both No. 1 Tulane and Bradley. The Redhawks' only series win of the season came at Southeast Louisiana on Feb. 25-27.
SEMO's other wins were in midweek action, where the Redhawks are 2-0. They beat Saint Louis (8-3) on Mar. 2 and South Dakota State (7-2) on Mar. 7, both opponents who SIU plays later this year.
Hitting .246, SEMO is led by 2004 all-OVC outfielder Frank Montiel. Montiel hits .357 with a team-leading 15 hits, one home run and 13 RBI.
Montiel is one of three Redhawks on this year's team who garnered all-OVC honors in 2004. Pitcher Brad Smith (first-team) and outfielder Eric Horstman (second-team) are also in that group.
SEMO is picked to finish second in the OVC behind Austin Peay.
Did You Know?
SEMO changed its nickname to Redhawks in January after the Board of Regents voted unanimously to retire with dignity the longtime "Indian" and "Otahkian" Southeast athletic team nicknames.
On Deck
SIU returns home to host Chicago State in a three-game series this weekend. The Salukis and Cougars will play Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. Starting this weekend, the Dawgs will be at home for awhile, as 10 of their next 12 games are at Abe Martin Field.
