Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball announces 2008 schedule
01/03/2008 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Jan. 3, 2008
By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Entering her ninth season at the helm of the Southern Illinois softball program, head coach Kerri Blaylock has shown that her squad will not shy away from top-level competition. The 2008 schedule showcases seven teams that earned berths into the 2007 NCAA Softball Championship Regionals, including Super Regional entrant Hawaii and Women's Collegiate World Series (WCWS) participants Northwestern and Washington.
Southern Illinois has made the NCAA Tournament five years in a row, and will begin its run for a trip to the postseason for a sixth-straight season at the Jacksonville University Invitational (Feb. 8-10).
SIU will open with North Carolina-Greensboro on Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. (ET). The other teams in the field include host Jacksonville, Coastal Carolina, and Minnesota from the Big Ten Conference. Southern Illinois began last season with a 4-1 record at the Jacksonville Invitational with wins against Minnesota, UNC-Greensboro and a pair of victories against Jacksonville.
Southern Illinois makes a return trip to the Bulldog Round Robin (Feb. 15-17), hosted by Mississippi State, after last participating in 2006. 2007 NCAA Regional participants Mississippi State and Wright State join Fordham and the Salukis in the field. The Salukis will take on Fordham to open the tournament on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. (CT).
The early-season tournaments continue with the Middle Tennessee Classic (Feb. 23-24) hosted by Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. SIU will take on Belmont to open the tournament at 11 a.m. (CT) on Feb. 23. Also taking the field in Murfreesboro will be UT-Martin, and host Middle Tennessee.
The first weekend of March (1-2) SIU will host the Kay Brechtelsbauer Southern Classic for the 11th time. Western Illinois, Kansas, Northwestern and Missouri Valley Conference opponent Bradley will make up the five-team field. The Salukis have an all-time record of 29-8 as the host of the tournament, and will face Western Illinois at 10 a.m. (CT) on March 1 to open the competition.
Southern Illinois will conclude the tournament portion of its schedule at the Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii (March 6-9). SIU joins Eastern Kentucky, Hawaii, Idaho State, Washington and the Netherlands National Team for the six-team tournament. The Salukis last competed in the Malihini Tournament in 2004 and went 2-2 against host Hawaii.
SIU opens Missouri Valley Conference play at Charlotte West Stadium on March 15 with a doubleheader against Northern Iowa. The Salukis will also host Illinois State (March 29-30), Indiana State (April 5-6), Evansville (April 16) and the league rival Creighton Bluejays (April 19-20) throughout the conference slate.
Conference play will finish at the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament, hosted by Southern Illinois May 8-10 at Charlotte West Stadium. The Salukis hosted the tournament for the first time in 2004 after claiming the regular-season title, and it will be the third time in school history that SIU hosted the league tournament.
