Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball hosts Youngstown State this weekend
03/09/2007 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
March 9, 2007
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, Mar. 10-11, 2007
Series Schedule: Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., CST.
Site: Abe Martin Field (2,000)
Series History: SIU leads, 1-0
Head Coaches: SIU: Dan Callahan (331-350-1/ 13th Year).
YSU: Mike Florak (190-245-1/9th Year).
Live Stats: www.siusalukis.com
Probable Pitching Matchups
Saturday - Jordan Powell, RHP (SIU) vs. Chuck Schiffhauer, RHP (YSU)
Sunday - Cody Adams, RHP (SIU) vs. Adam Kalafos, RHP (YSU)
DAWGS FACE PENGUINS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1964
SIU faces YSU for the first time since 1964. The Salukis and Penguins last met at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Jackson, Tenn., on June 4, 1964. SIU won that game, 11-5, and went on to finish the regional undefeated at 2-0. The Dawgs were coached by Glenn "Abe" Martin at that time.
SIU LOOKING TO REGROUP THIS WEEKEND
The Salukis look to regroup after letting back-to-back ninth-inning leads slip away. SIU was ahead, 6-5, entering the ninth inning against Northern Illinois (Mar. 4) and led, 8-7, in the ninth against Murray State (Mar. 7). SIU's bullpen gave up a total of 11 runs between the eighth and ninth innings of those games.
HOME SWEET HOME
SIU is a near-perfect 5-1 at home this season. The Salukis are 47-18 (.723) at Abe Martin Field since 2005.
KELLY PUSHES HITTING STREAK TO 10 GAMES
Sophomore catcher Mark Kelly extended his hitting streak to 10 games when he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a pair of doubles and three RBI at Murray State Wednesday. A native of Hanover Park, Ill., Kelly is hitting a sizzling .465 (20-for-43) with seven runs, four doubles, a home run and 16 RBI on the streak. He is the first Saluki to hit safely in 10 or more games since Kevin Koski was on an 11-game hitting streak from April 19 to May 7, 2006. He has collected at least one hit in 13 of 14 games this year.
KELLY NAMED MVC PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK
Mark Kelly was named this week's Missouri Valley Conference Player-of-the-Week, the league announced March 5. Kelly hit a blazing .647 (11-for-17) with four runs scored, two doubles, his first career home run and eight RBI in four games. He began the week by going a near-perfect 5-for-6 with two runs, a double and three RBI in SIU's first midweek tilt at Tennessee-Martin (Feb. 28). He hit safely in each of his first five at-bats and touched home for the go-ahead run in that game. Kelly then followed that up by hitting .545 (6-for-11) with two runs, a double, home run and five RBI in SIU's 2-1 series win against Northern Illinois (Mar. 2-4). Kelly, the first Saluki to win the Valley's weekly honor this season, boasted a .941 slugging percentage and .632 on-base percentage over that period, as well.
HEAVY HITTERS
SIU pounded out 66 hits in its last five games. The Salukis averaged 13.2 hits per game and registered 16 or more hits on two occasions during that span. SIU boosted its average from .205 to .266 in its last five games alone, and is 6-1 when out-hitting opponents this season.
START ME UP
Senior Kevin Koski has made 141 consecutive starts in the Saluki outfield. A native of Schaumburg, Ill., he currently ranks among SIU career leaders in hits (t5th, 246), at-bats (6th, 752), runs scored (5th, 161) and hit by pitch (t3rd, 26).
CADEMARTORI HOMERS AGAINST MURRAY STATE FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT YEAR
SIU junior outfielder Dean Cademartori homered against Murray State for the second year in a row. Cademartori launched a two-run home run as part of a three-run sixth inning against the Thoroughbreds Wednesday. He also hit a two-run homer at Murray State on March 1, 2006. Cademartori has accounted for two of SIU's four home runs this season.
NICE WORK
SIU has put its leadoff man on base in an inning 61.5 percent (16 of 26 times) of the time in the last three games. Those runners have come around to score on 10 of 16 occasions. The Salukis are hitting .419 (52-for-124) on the year when their leadoff man gets on base.
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE
After hitting a mere .100 (3-for-30) in the first nine games of his Saluki career, junior Adam Hills has been hot ever since. Hills caught fire for a .565 batting average (13-of-23), five runs scored, three doubles and eight RBI in his last five games. He has hit in five different spots of the batting order, and carries a five-game hitting streak into the weekend.
ERRORS EQUAL UNEARNED RUNS
SIU's 28 errors in 14 games have led to 26 unearned runs, amounting to nearly 42 percent (41.9) of the total runs given up. The Salukis have allowed 62 runs on the year, 36 of which were earned. Defensively, the Dawgs are fielding .952 with half of their errors coming on the left side of the infield (6 at third base, 8 at shortstop).
STRIKEOUT-TO-WALK
Saluki pitchers own an impressive 10:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 14 games this season. SIU and Wichita State hold the league's best strikeout-to-walk ratios thus far. Each are equally impressive, as WSU has struck out 108 and walked 31 in 123 innings, and SIU has fanned 107 and walked 39 in 126.1 innings.
16 AND COUNTING
Dan Callahan is 16 wins away from reaching 500 career victories as a NCAA Division I head coach. Callahan is in his 13th year at the Saluki helm. Prior to SIU, he spent six seasons as head coach at Eastern Illinois University. He holds a career record of 484-508-2 in 18 years at the Division I level.
AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT . . .
Dan Callahan is also on pace to get his 350th career win as Southern's head coach. Callahan needs 19 more wins to reach that mark. He currently has a 331-350-1 record in his 13th year at SIU.
DID YOU KNOW . . .
SIU has scored first just five times this season, and is 4-1 in those contests? The Salukis have come from behind in seven of their nine victories.
AWESOME ADAMS
Sophomore right-hander Cody Adams is 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA in four starts this season. Adams, who hails from Viola, Ill., recently posted a career-high nine strikeouts in the longest outing of his Saluki career (8.0 innings) against Northern Illinois (Mar. 3). He has struck out 23 and walked five in his last three appearances alone. Adams is also averaging nearly one strikeout per inning, as he boasts a team-high 28 Ks to only six walks in 29 innings of work this year.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
YSU, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Mike Florak, is winless at 0-6 this season. The Penguins, members of the Horizon League, are led by Lou Gattozzi and Eric Marzec, who are each hitting .417 in a minimum of four starts. YSU has struggled at the plate and on the mound this season. The Penguins are hitting .212 and own a 11.63 ERA as a team. YSU has given up an average of 10.2 runs and allowed 59 earned runs and 40 walks in 45.2 innings through six games.
