Baseball hosts Valparaiso this weekend

April 5, 2007

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

Dates: Sat.-Sun., April 7-8, 2007
Series Schedule: Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., CST.
Site: Abe Martin Field (2,000)
Series History: Valpo leads, 1-0
Head Coaches: SIU: Dan Callahan (343-353-1, 164-196-1 MVC/13th Year).
VU: Tracy Woodson (5-15/1st Year).
Webcast: www.siusalukis.com (Saturday Only)
Livestats: www.siusalukis.com

Valpo Series Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Saturday - Jordan Powell, RHP (SIU) vs. Harvey Yergin, RHP (Valpo)
Sunday - Cody Adams, RHP (SIU) vs. TBA (Valpo)

GOOD FRYDAY
The 11th Annual Saluki Baseball Fish Fry and Memorabilia Auction is Friday, April 6 at the Carbondale Civic Center. The event runs from 5-8 p.m., with the memorabilia auction beginning at 7 p.m.Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children under 12. Dinner includes all you can eat fish, potato salad, coleslaw, bread, soft drinks and delicious homemade desserts. Carryouts are available and all proceeds will benefit Saluki Baseball. This year's memorabilia auction features autographed baseballs, bats and jerseys by the likes of Hall-of-Famers Joe Morgan, Jim Palmer, Billy Williams, Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter, and current stars Chipper Jones, American League MVP Justin Morneau, Barry Zito, Jeff Bagwell, Joe Mauer and Roy Oswalt; and lots of reigning World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinal tickets.

DAWGS PLAY NEXT THREE AGAINST NON-LEAGUE FOES
SIU plays its next three games against non-conference opponents. The Salukis, after playing host to Valpo, visit Southeast Missouri State (19-10) on April 10. The Dawgs are 17-6 and have won five in a row against non-conference foes this year.

SALUKIS AND TIGERS RAINED OUT TUESDAY
SIU and Missouri were initially slated to play a wood bat game Tuesday night at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. That game, however, was rained out. The Salukis and Tigers will not reschedule.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Salukis, currently 15-1 with five series wins in Carbondale, are off to their best home start under head coach Dan Callahan. SIU has won 10 consecutive games at Abe Martin Field, and hasn't lost there in over a month -- last loss was in game three of Northern Illinois series on Mar. 4. SIU is 57-18 (.760) in Carbondale since 2005.

THIS IS OUR HOUSE!
Six Salukis, including Mark Kelly (.455), Aaron Roberts (.438), Bret Maugeri (.412), Chris Crank (.346), Adam Hills (.345) and Michael Finigan (.326) are hitting over .300 at home. As a team, SIU is outhitting (.321 to .231), outscoring (115 to 64) and outpitching (2.75 ERA to 6.14 ERA) its opponents at Abe's Place. Pitching wise, Ian Reinhart (0.79), Bryant George (1.00), Cody Adams (1.56) and Jordan Powell (1.99) all boast below-2.00 ERAs at home.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Saturday and Sunday starting pitchers Jordan Powell (5-0) and Cody Adams (5-0) are a combined 10-0 in Carbondale this year. Overall, Powell (8-3) has lost three times in his career at home, while Adams (8-1) has fallen just once.

EIGHT-GAME WINNING STREAK ENDS IN EVANSVILLE
SIU saw an eight-game winning streak come end for the second time this season when it dropped two of three games at Evansville last weekend. Northern Illinois snapped the Salukis' other eight-game winning streak on Mar. 4.
Longest Winning Streaks of 2007
8 games -- March 16-28
8 games -- February 17-March 3
Longest Losing Streaks of 2007
2 games -- March 30 & 31
2 games -- February 11 & 16
Wichita State (10 games, from Mar. 17-31) and SIU own the longest winning streaks in the league this year.

WE CAN BE HEROES
Sunday's series finale between SIU and Evansville featured a pair of heroic performances by junior outfielder Dean Cademartori and freshman right-handed pitcher Bryant George. Cademartori walked in the tying run on a borderline 3-2 pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth. Two innings later, he fouled off five consecutive two-strike pitches before knocking in the go-ahead run on a one-out double. Meanwhile, George inherited a one-out, second and third situation in the bottom of the ninth inning, but recorded a strikeout and groundball out to send the game to extra innings. George went on to retire six of the next seven he faced and pitched a one-two-three 11th en route to his first collegiate win.

DAWGS AMONG TOP-THREE MVC TEAMS IN WINS, BATTING AVERAGE AND ERA
SIU is among the top-three teams in the MVC in wins, batting average and ERA. The Salukis are second in wins (21) and batting average (.303), and third in ERA (3.64). They trail Wichita State and Evansville in hitting and pitching, and are second to the Shockers in wins.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
SIU posted four series sweeps this season, all of which came at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis swept Central Michigan (Feb. 23-25), Youngstown State (Mar. 10-11), Western Michigan (Mar. 16-18) and Illinois State (Mar. 23-25). Between the 2006 and 2007 campaigns, SIU has compiled a total of seven series sweeps, including two in league play (Indiana State in 2006; Illinois State in 2007). SIU and Wichita State were the only two teams with MVC-opening sweeps in 2007.

TWENTY-TWENTY
SIU won its 20th game of the season when it defeated Tennessee-Martin, 13-8, the last time it played at home on Mar. 28. It marked the second time the Salukis earned their 20th win in March under head coach Dan Callahan. Ironically, SIU also won its 20th game on the exact same day of the 1999 season -- defeated Northern Iowa, 8-1, on Mar. 28. The 1999 and 2007 clubs are the quickest to 20 victories in the Callahan era. SIU is 20-5 in its last 25 contests.

WATCH OUT FOR THOSE HILLS
Junior outfielder Adams Hills is one of four Salukis to hit safely in 10 or more consecutive games this season. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., Hills carries a 13-game hitting streak into this weekend's series against Valparaiso. If Hills gets a hit Saturday, he will match the second-longest hitting streak on the team this year.
Longest SIU hitting streaks of 2007
Mark Kelly, 21 games (Feb. 9-Mar. 28)
Aaron Roberts, 14 games (Mar. 7-30)
Adam Hills, 13 games (Mar. 13-present)
Michael Finigan, 11 games (Mar. 11-28)
Hills entered the Evansville series as one of three first-year players on a double-digit game hitting streak. His was the only one of the three which remained intact.

SERIES NOTES
SIU and Valparaiso meet for the first time in 41 years...The Crusaders and Salukis last met at the 1966 NCAA District IV Tournament, where Valpo won, 4-3...Valpo, a member of the Mid-Continent Conference, is 5-15 under first-year head coach Tracy Woodson...The Crusaders come to Carbondale after dropping 13 of their last 16 games...As a team, Valpo is hitting .277 on the year, with Machael Arensdorff paving the way with a .395 clip...Defensively, the Crusaders have committed 30 errors in 20 games...Pitching wise, they own a 5.70 ERA and give up nearly seven (6.5) runs a game...Valpo, which is 2-10 on the road, is the second team from Indiana to face SIU in as many weeks...The Salukis are 1-2 against Indiana teams after dropping a three-game series at Evansville last weekend.

MAUGERI AND BAKER CLEARED TO PLAY
Saluki infielder Bret Maugeri and pitcher Dusty Baker were cleared to play against Evansville last weekend. Maugeri, who missed five-straight games due to a knee injury, went 0-for-3 at the plate in three outings against the Aces. Baker, the Dawgs' closer in 2006, was available for Sunday's game, but did not pitch. He has not yet played this season.