Baseball opens season against Western Michigan Friday

Feb. 21, 2008

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University opens its 2008 season against Western Michigan this weekend. The Salukis and Broncos, who meet at First Tennessee Fields in Cordova, Tennessee, begin a three-game series Friday at 2 p.m.,CST.

SIU, which owns a 5-4 series lead against WMU, swept the Broncos in Carbondale last season.

Junior right-hander Cody Adams will start Friday's opener. Adams, projected to be a top-five round draft pick, was recently ranked among the top-50 college prospects in the nation by Baseball America. He led the Missouri Valley Conference with 11 wins a year ago.

Adams, who Baseball America predicts to be the Valley's Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2008, has been the center of a lot of preseason hype.

In 2007, Adams emerged as the Salukis' ace with the league's best fastball, topping out at 96 miles per hour. He led the team in wins, ERA (3.01), strikeouts (89) and innings pitched (107.2). Adams made 16 starts, going undefeated in his first seven of the 2007 campaign.

Adams moves to the front of the rotation after serving as the Dawgs' pivotal game two starter his sophomore year.

Senior left-hander Shawn Joy and newcomer David Kington will take the mound for Saturday's doubleheader. Joy gets the ball in game one, while Kington sets to make his SIU debut in the nightcap.

WMU will counter with three right-handers this weekend. Ethan Hollingsworth is likely to go up against Adams Friday. Hollingsworth gave up eight hits and four runs in seven innings of a 6-3 loss to SIU last year. Billy Morrison and Brian Stroud are the other Bronco starters.

SIU cracked Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Fabulous 40 Preseason Poll for the first time since 1991. The Salukis, tabbed 33rd, return eight position starters and two starting pitchers from a team that went 34-22 and tied for third in the Valley last season.

The Salukis were picked second in two MVC preseason polls -- Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America -- and third in the league's coaches poll.

"I'm excited about our team this year," said SIU head coach Dan Callahan. "We have a lot of guys returning and will look to be a valid contender in the MVC. We are eager to start the season."

Junior catcher Mark Kelly, rated among the nation's top-10 catchers according to rivals.com, is expected to have another big year.

Kelly, a preseason all-MVC pick, boasted a .379 batting average with a league-high 63 RBI as SIU's top hitter in 2007. He also gunned down 26 runners on the basepaths as the only Saluki who started all 56 games.

Other Salukis to watch are sophomore RHP Bryant George, senior UT Adam Hills, sophomore OF Aaron Roberts, junior INF Scott Elmendorf and senior OF Dean Cademartori.

George, recently named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, ranked 23rd in the nation in saves a year ago. His 11 saves tied for the most among all freshmen in the country.

Hills was a first-team all-MVC pick in his first year at SIU last season. He ranked third on the team with a .319 batting average and walked a team-high 41 times.

Roberts, who joined Kelly on MVC's preseason team, was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American last season. He was the Salukis' second-best hitter with a .349 average. Roberts also led the team in runs scored and stolen bases with 52 and 13, respectively.

Elmendorf, entering his third year as a starting infielder, looks to return to his natural position at second base. He hit .281 with a team-high 16 doubles in 2007.

Cademartori, the only four-year starter on this year's club, could have a breakout year. Last season, he hit .242 with 25 runs, 10 doubles, four home runs and 37 RBI as SIU's everyday left fielder.

SIU faces a WMU team that skids into the season on a six-game losing streak. The Broncos dropped 13 of their last 14 games en route to a dismal 16-33 finish in 2007.

But, like SIU, the Broncos also return eight position starters.

Infielders Max Kelmigian (.321), Zach Gentile (.319) and Matt Abro (.301), outfielder Pedro Dager (.316) and catchers Nathan Marquardt (.300) and Chris Lewis (.300) give WMU a strong offensive front after each hit .300 or better a year ago.

Defensively, the Broncos struggled to a .953 fielding percentage, one of the lowest in the Mid-American Conference.

SIU and WMU were initially scheduled to open the season in Carbondale, but inclement weather forced the series to be moved to a neutral location.

Following this weekend's series, the Salukis visit Tennessee-Martin for a midweek tilt Feb. 29, while the Broncos stay on the road for 14 more games (Feb. 29-Mar. 16).