Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball opens MVC schedule at home with Northern Iowa
03/17/2006 | 12:00:00 | Softball
March 17, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Returning home from its week-long and weather-riddled trip to California, the Southern Illinois University softball team (14-3) opens its Missouri Valley Conference Schedule Saturday at home against Northern Iowa.
Action for the three-game series will begin at 12 p.m. Saturday with a doubleheader at Charlotte West Stadium, followed by a single game at 12 p.m. Sunday.
The Panthers (7-13-1) have struggled so far this season and find themselves at the bottom of the MVC standings.
Even though UNI has lost games against opponents that SIU has defeated (Northern Illinois and Southeast Missouri), the Panthers have also played against some ranked opponents (DePaul and Nebraska).
SIU has also dominated Northern Iowa in recent years, having not lost to the Panthers since March 24, 2001.
Leading UNI so far this season in batting are Rachael Rogers and Jamie Kelling with identical .344 averages.
Rogers, a 2005 Second-Team All-MVC selection, is 21-for-61 this season with a team-high four home runs, a triple and three doubles. She also leads the team with 21 RBI.
Kelling leads the team in hits, going 22-for-64 this season. She also has a team-high five doubles, her only extra-base hits this season.
Close behind Rogers and Kelling is Nikki Ferden. She is batting .328 (20-for-61) with two triples so far this season.
Leading UNI in the circle is Monica Wright with a 4.59 ERA. Wright sports a 4-7 record, seeing action in 71.2 innings.
She has thrown nine complete games this season while striking out 24 batters. Seven of the 54 runs that Wright has given up this season have been unearned.
Also seeing a considerable amount of action for UNI in 2006 is Uju Ibekwe. She has a 3-5 record while throwing six complete games. She has also struck out a team-high 27 batters in her 48.0 innings pitched.
LiveStats as well as an audio Webcast with Thad Jackson will be available for the UNI series. Both can be accessed at the SIU athletics website, www.siusalukis.com.
