Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Eastern Illinois Tuesday
04/11/2005 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
April 11, 2005
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.-Southern Illinois (19-13) returns to Carbondale for a four-game homestand, beginning Tuesday when it hosts Eastern Illinois (8-21) at 3 p.m.
SIU, who faces its fourth Ohio Valley Conference opponent this season, looks to win its sixth straight game at home.
Broadcast Information
Audio and Live Stats for Tuesday's game against EIU can be accessed via the internet at www.siusalukis.com.
Live Audio. QuickTime Player is required for all webcasts.
Live Stats.
Dawgs in Non-Conference Play
SIU is 14-9 overall and 8-3 at home against non-conference opponents this season.
The Salukis will go after their fourth consecutive win in a midweek game after last beating Middle Tennessee State (10-8) on Mar. 16, Tennessee-Martin (4-3, 11 inn.) on Mar. 29 and Murray State (6-2) on Apr. 6.
SIU stands at an even 3-3 in midweek games this season, as all but one of those matchups have been against OVC foes.
The Coaches
Dan Callahan (Quincy College, `81; SIU, `87) is 270-312-1, 138-177-1 (MVC) in his 11th season at the helm of the Saluki Baseball program. Callahan guided the Dawgs to the MVC Tournament Championship game in each of the last two seasons. He is 423-470-2 all-time in 16-plus years as a Division I head coach.
Callahan spent six seasons (1989-94) at the helm of the EIU baseball program before taking over the head coaching job at SIU in 1995. While at Eastern, Callahan's teams went 153-158-1. He also led the Panthers to back-to-back conference championships in 1991 and 1992.
Jim Schmitz (Wilmington College, `79), a three-time OVC Coach of the Year, is 290-269 in his 11th season as head coach of EIU. Under Schmitz, the Panthers have won three OVC regular-season titles and one OVC Tournament crown.
Series History
SIU is 51-26-5 all-time against EIU, as Tuesday's game marks the 83rd meeting between the two teams.
The Salukis are 4-1 against the Panthers under Callahan.
SIU's only loss to EIU with Callahan at the helm was in 1998, where the Dawgs fell 9-8 in the Saluki/Best Inns Classic.
As for the four wins, two were in the Saluki/Best Inns Classic and two were in Charleston.
Terry Nice
Freshman right-hander Ryan Terry (Palmyra, Mich.) will make his third consecutive midweek start Tuesday against EIU.
Terry, who hails from Palmyra, Mich., started his emergence as the Salukis' midweek starter when he gave up one hit and struck out two in five scoreless innings of a no-decision against Tennessee-Martin (Mar. 29).
A week later, he scattered four hits, struck out two and gave up a pair of runs in five innings against Murray State (Apr. 6). He also held the Thoroughbreds scoreless for four innings en route to his first career win.
On the year, Terry is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five appearances, including two starts. He also recorded seven strikeouts in 15 innings of work. In addition, he has held opponents scoreless in nine of his last 10 innings.
Scouting the Panthers
EIU, who lost 14 of its first 15 games of 2005, heads to Carbondale with a 8-21 record.
Recently, the Panthers won two of three games at Jacksonville State to earn their second OVC series win of the season.
EIU's two biggest offensive threats are Mark Chagnon and Erik Huber. Chagnon hits a team-leading .352 with 12 runs scored, five doubles and 12 RBI, while Huber follows hitting .333 with 15 runs, five doubles, a triple, 18 RBI and a team-high seven stolen bases.
Pitching wise, the Panthers rank second to last in the OVC with a 7.12 ERA. EIU pitchers are allowing 10.8 hits and 6.4 earned runs per game.
About the Salukis
SIU dropped its second consecutive MVC series on the road when it lost two of three games at Bradley (Apr. 8-10) over the weekend.
Coming off a day's rest, the Dawgs will look to remain hot at home, where they are 11-3 this year.
Offensively, P.J. Finigan (Springfield, Ill.), Kevin Koski (Schaumburg, Ill.) and Matt Brewer (Springfield, Ill.) have had the most success against non-conference opponents this season.
Finigan hits a team-best .377 with 16 runs, four doubles, two triples and 11 RBI in 17 non-league starts.
Meanwhile, Koski hits .337 and tops the Dawgs in runs (22) and hits (33), while Brewer hits .330 with a team-best 12 doubles and 25 RBI. Koski and Brewer have started all 23 of SIU's non-conference games this season.
On Deck
SIU returns to conference action this weekend when it hosts Southwest Missouri State in a key three-game series, beginning Friday at 2 p.m. The Salukis and Bears will also play at 2 p.m., Saturday and 1 p.m., Sunday. All three games of the SMS series will be broadcast live by Mike Reis and Rick Gregg on WCIL-AM 1020 and www.siusalukis.com.
