Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball faces MVC rival Creighton at home this weekend
04/18/2008 | 12:00:00 | Softball
April 18, 2008
By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - With two weeks left in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season, the Saluki softball team (24-16, 10-4 MVC) faces rival Creighton (32-13, 10-2 MVC) for a three-game weekend showdown at Charlotte West Stadium, April 19-20.
Southern Illinois, which as played two more league games than the Bluejays, enters the three-game set in second place and one game behind Creighton in the overall conference standings. The Salukis have won nine out of their last 10 games, and are 9-1 at home in league play this season, while CU is currently on a five-game winning streak.
SIU leads the MVC in batting average at .282, yet will go up against one of the top pitching staffs in Creighton, which leads the league in opposing batting average at .212.
Spearheading the CU pitching attack all season has been reigning MVC Pitcher of the Year, Tara Oltman, who leads the conference in earned run average (1.07), opposing batting average (.177) and wins (23).
"We really need to keep the game low scoring," said head coach Kerri Blaylock. "If the game's score gets elevated, it might be a shot in their favor. The one thing about our kids is that they've seen (Tara) Oltman before, so we just have to focus on keeping them from scoring."
SIU trails, 17-23, in the all-time series with Creighton, and has faced the Bluejays in the MVC Championship game twice in the last four years.
The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12 p.m., and conclude with a single game on Sunday at noon. Saturday will also be Senior Day for SIU's five seniors, and the softball program will team up with the American Cancer Society for the Relay For Life Strikeout Cancer Day.
All three games of the weekend series can be heard live on-line through a webcast by Patrick Erickson, or viewed by subscribing to DawgWatch.TV. To access the audio and video of the games, visit www.SIUSalukis.com. Erickson will also interview Saluki seniors in a special pre-game show, beginning on Saturday at 11:40 a.m.
