Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball heads to Sam Houston State Tournament this weekend
02/16/2006 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2006
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 17-19, 2006
Site: Sam Houston State Baseball Complex (Huntsville, Texas)
Series History: First meeting vs. Dallas Baptist; SHSU leads, 10-4; First meeting vs. Texas A&M-CC
Head Coaches: SIU: Dan Callahan (291-321-1/12th Year). DBU: Eric Newman (34-24/2nd Year). SHSU: Chris Rupp (412-263-3/14th Year). TAMCC: Hector Salinas (156-163-1/8th Year).
Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
Audio Webcast: None.
Livestats: None.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 17 - vs. Dallas Baptist, 3 p.m., CST
Saturday, Feb. 18 - at Sam Houston State, 7 p.m., CST
Sunday, Feb. 19 - vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Noon, CST
Southern Illinois Probable Starting Pitchers
Fri.-Tyler Norrick, LHP
Sat.-Jordan Powell, RHP
Sun.-Cody Adams, RHP
About the Salukis
SIU opened its season with a 2-1 series win at No. 20 Florida Atlantic last week. FAU dropped out of this week's Collegiate Baseball Top-25 Poll following the series loss to the Dawgs. In their 2006 debut, the Salukis overcame a six-run deficit by scoring seven runs in the last two innings of the game to fuel a thrilling, 7-6, come-from-behind victory on Feb. 10. After it was blanked, 12-0, in game two, SIU exploded for 17 runs and 22 hits (three home runs) to win the series with a 17-8 victory. Preseason all-Missouri Valley Conference outfielder Kevin Koski kept his school record 36-game hitting streak intact Friday, but the impressive run ended a day later. Koski's hitting streak, which is the second-longest in MVC history, lasted from March 29, 2005 to Feb. 11, 2006. Koski, however, started a new hitting streak when his five hits against the Owls nearly tied a Saluki single-game record on Feb. 12. A native of Schaumburg, Ill., Koski hit safely in his first five at-bats before FAU left fielder Jordan Hafer made a diving catch to rob him of his sixth hit in the eighth. He hit .500 (7-for-14) with four runs, a double, four RBI and a stolen base on the weekend. Koski also walked once and was the only SIU hitter to go the entire series without a striking out.
About the Patriots
Dallas Baptist and SIU meet for the first time at the Sam Houston Tournament this weekend. The Patriots beat Portland in three of four games to open the season. DBU is hitting .336 entering the weekend, as it nearly put up double-digit runs and hits in each of its first four games. Most recently, the Patriots scored 23 runs off 22 hits in a 23-8 win over Portland on Feb. 14. Drew Holder hit .368 (7-of-19) with seven runs scored, three doubles, a home run and nine RBI as DBU's most productive hitter a week ago.
About the Bearkats
Sam Houston State is 10-4 all-time against SIU, and enters the weekend after suffering its first loss of the season against Texas A&M (7-4) Tuesday. All 14 of the Bearkats meetings with the Dawgs came before Dan Callahan took over as SIU's head coach in 1995. Like the Patriots, SHSU is also averaging one home run a game, as the Bearkats have four on the year. Outfielder Dustin Martin is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with seven runs, two homers, eight RBI and two stolen bases after four games this season.
About the Islanders
Texas A&M-CC marks the second team to face SIU for the first time at the Sam Houston State Tournament this weekend. The Islanders, who are currently 4-3 on the year, recently went 1-3 in a four-game series against Troy University. TAM-CC was outscored, 46-17, in that series. The Islanders already have 12 home runs through their first seven games this season, with Miguel Mercado paving the way with three homers and 12 RBI.
