Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball kicks off season at Triple Crown Invitational
02/09/2006 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Feb. 9, 2006
SIU KICKS OFF SEASON AT TRIPLE CROWN INVITATIONAL
For the third time in school history, the Southern Illinois University softball team will begin it's season at the Triple Crown Invitational. The Salukis sport a 7-2 record at the tournament, going 4-0 in 2003 and 3-2 in 2004.
Wins in 2003 came against Purdue, Central Florida, Bethune-Cookman and Mississippi; while wins in 2004 came against Bethune-Cookman (2) and Stetson, with losses to Marshall and Jacksonville.
The postive starts to the season in both 2003 and 2004 led to SIU advancing to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.
Following the Triple Crown Invitational, SIU will travel to Starkville, Miss. to play in the Mississippi State Invitational, Feb. 17-19. The Salukis last played in the Mississippi State Invitational in 2002, posting a 4-1 record.
Southern Illinois enters the 2006 season after posting a SIU and Missouri Valley Conference-record 47 wins in the 2005 season, winning the MVC regular season title for the second consecutive year.
The Salukis also advanced to their third NCAA Tournament in as many years, before eventually falling to Stanford and Missouri.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:
Texas Tech Red Raiders (0-0)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Enrollment: 29,000
Colors: Scarlet and Black
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach (Record at TTU / Yrs.): Teresa Wilson (23-25 / 1)
2005 Record: 23-25 / 3-15 (Big 12)
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2001
Media Relations contact: Adam Quisenberry
Office Phone / Cell Phone: 806.742.2770 x-275/ 806.787.0191
E-mail: adam.quisenberry@ttu.edu
-- Texas Tech returns 13 letterwinners, including six starters, from last year's squad that finished ninth in the Big 12. The Red Raiders were picked eighth in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, out of the 10 Big 12 teams.
Central Florida Golden Knights (0-0)
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Enrollment: 46,000
Colors: Black and Gold
Conference: Conference USA
Head Coach (Record at UCF / Yrs.): Renee Luers-Gillispie (172-100-1 / 6)
2005 Record: 47-29-1 / 13-7 (Atlantic Sun)
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2005
Media Relations contact: Courtney Hastings
Office Phone / Cell Phone: 407.823.4209 / 407.920.1233
E-mail: chasting@mail.ucf.edu
-- Central Florida returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's squad that won 47 games en route to an Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament title. The team advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, falling to South Florida. UCF was picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the Conference USA preseason coaches' poll. This is UCF's first season in Conference USA.
CONNOYER JOINS SIU COACHING STAFF
Christy Connoyer, formerly a head coach and Tulsa and assistant coach at Purdue, joined the Southern Illinois softball coaching staff over the summer of 2005.
Connoyer replaces former assistant Buddy Foster, who left the team to take a head coaching position at MVC-member Bradley University.
A native of Bethalto, Ill., Connoyer was head coach at Tulsa in 2005 after spending eight years as an assistant coach at Purdue.
At SIU, connoyer works as a hitting coach and with infield defense. She also serves as the Salukis' recruiting coordinator.
Prior to coaching, Connoyer played from 1990-94 as a shortstop and second baseman at Notre Dame.
SALUKIS GO 11-1 IN FALL TOURNAMENTS
The Southern Illinois softball team posted a 11-1 record in it's fall tournaments. The Salukis played in the Illinois State Fall Tournament, Kirkwood Fall Tournament and a rain-shortened Saluki Invitational.
SIU posted wins over Parkland College, SIU-Edwardsville (2), Illinois Central College, Western Illinois, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri, Missouri-Rolla, McKendree College, John A. Logan College and Southern Indiana.
The lone loss came against MVC foe Illinois State.
SIU out-scored it's opponents 77-19 in the three tournaments. Lauren Haas led the team in hitting with a .517 average (15-for-29). Haas, Becky Wegmann and Jayme Wamsley each had three home runs in fall play.
Junior Cassidy Scoggins led the SIU pitching staff with a 1.11 ERA. She saw action in 34 innings with a 4-0 record, striking out 33 batters.
SIU EARNS NFCA ACADEMIC TOP-10 HONOR FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
For the fifth consecutive year, the Southern Illinois softball team finished in the top 10 in the nation in team grade point average.
SIU finished 10th with a 3.415 GPA, not far behind Detroit Mercy who finished first with a 3.591 GPA.
No stranger to the NFCA Academic Top 10, SIU finished fourth in 2001 (3.39 GPA), fourth in 2002 (3.39 GPA), sixth in 2003 (3.43 GPA) and fifth in 2004 (3.42 GPA).
During this time, the Dawgs also managed to finish in the top 25 in the final polls in three of the five years.
Amy Harre, Maria Damico, Katie Jordan, Cassidy Scoggins and Lauren Roney all contributed to the team's success as they received regional all-academic honors. Harre was named an academic all-american for the third-straight year.
DAWGS RECEIVE VOTES IN PRESEASON TOP-25 POLLS
Following a record-setting 47-14 season in 2005, the Southern Illinois University softball team received votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 polls.
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, the Salukis picked up 16 votes, coming in at what would be #29 in the nation. In the USA Today/NFCA poll, SIU cane in at the would-be #32 position with 21 votes.
Defending national champion Michigan earned the top spot in both polls with 2005 NCAA Tournament runner-up UCLA coming in a close second in both.
Southern is the only Missouri Valley Conference team to receive votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll, with conference foe Wichita State picking up two votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
SALUKIS PICKED SECOND IN MVC PRESEASON COACHES' POLLS
The Southern Illinois University softball team was picked second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll, released Tuesday morning.
The Salukis tallied 92 total points, with two first-place votes, finishing one point behind Wichita State (93 / 7 first-place). Illinois State came in third with 77 points and one first-place vote.
Creighton, who won the 2005 MVC Tournament, came in fourth with 67 points. The Bluejays are followed by Missouri State (66), Drake (47), Northern Iowa (37), Bradley (25), Evansville (24) and Indiana State (22).
SCOGGINS, STEIN EARN PRESEASON MVC HONORS
Pitcher Cassidy Scoggins and outfielder Krystal Stein were both selected by the league's coaches as members of the Preseason All-Valley Softball Team.
Scoggins, a junior from Owasso, Okla., led SIU in ERA in 2005 with a 0.94. She posted a 20-5 record with 18 complete games. Stein, a sophomore from Nashville, Ill., led SIU in hitting with a .359 average. She also scored 29 runs and stole five bases.
SIU SIGNS THREE PLAYERS DURING NCAA EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Southern Illinois head coach Kerri Blaylock announced the signing of three players Nov. 9 for the 2006-07 season.
Alicia Garza, Allie Hanson and Katie Wilson all signed National Letters of Intent during the NCAA's early signing period.
Garza is a second-baseman from Lafayette, Ind.; Hanson is a catcher and utility player from Marion, Ill.; and Wilson is an outfielder and utility player from Alton, Ill.
