Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball travels to Tennessee-Martin Wednesday
02/26/2008 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Feb. 26, 2008
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University (1-2) hits the road for a midweek tilt against Tennessee-Martin (0-3) Wednesday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., CST, at Skyhawk Field.
SIU and UTM enter Wednesday's game looking to bounce back from rough starts last weekend. The Salukis dropped two of three to Western Michigan in Memphis, while the Skyhawks went winless in a tournament at South Carolina Upstate.
True freshman outfielder Chris Murphy currently leads SIU in hitting after three games. Murphy, who hails from Sewickley, Pa., made quite a splash in his debut as the Salukis' starting center fielder.
Murphy had a hand in six of SIU's runs against WMU. He hit .444 (4-for-9) with three runs scored, three RBI and three walks. Murphy also registered a .571 on-base percentage and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning during the Dawgs' win on Feb. 23.
Junior right-hander Andrew Dunn (0-2) will make his first career start against the Skyhawks. Dunn looks to regroup after giving up five hits and three runs in just 1.2 innings over two relief appearances against the Broncos.
UTM, which allowed 31 runs in its first three games, heads into tomorrow's matchup hitting just .216.
Shayne Martin and Kyle Dudley are the Skyhawks' top hitters thus far. Martin leads the team with a .375 clip, while Dudley follows hitting .364.
Defensively, UTM was charged with a total of eight errors in its last two games, including a season-high five against New Jersey Tech on Feb. 24.
SIU leads the all-time series against UTM, 19-4. The Salukis are 5-1 in their last six games against the Skyhawks.
