Southern Illinoise University Athletics
No. 24 Softball at first place Creighton this weekend
04/17/2009 | 12:00:00 | Softball
April 17, 2009
By Kyle Herm
www.SIUSalukis.com
SIU vs. Creighton Series Notes in PDF Format
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The 24th-ranked Saluki softball team (25-8, 9-3) travels to Omaha, Neb. for a three-game weekend showdown at first place Creighton (24-11, 12-3) at the CU Sports Complex.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12 p.m., followed by a single game at noon on Sunday.
In four out of the last five years, either Creighton or SIU has taken home the MVC regular season championship.
The Bluejays have won the last two years, while the Salukis won back-to-back league titles in 2004 and 2005.
Southern Illinois enters the three-game set with a league-best seven-game MVC win streak, but dropped its last game on Wednesday at UT Martin. Creighton comes into the series having won six of its last eight, and split a Wednesday doubleheader at home against Drake.
The matchup features the league's top two pitching staffs according to earned run average. Creighton holds a team ERA of 1.74 and has held opponents to a .209 batting average. SIU fell to No. 2 in team ERA with a 1.85 and has kept opponent batters quiet with a 1.94 average this season.
The two teams combined also account for three of the league's top-five pitchers, with SIU senior Katie McNamara, sophomore Nikki Waters and Creighton junior Tara Oltman.
The Salukis have lost six straight to Creighton, including all three at home last year. However the team's last win against the Bluejays came in a 3-1 victory on the road at the CU Sports Complex in 2007.
The weekend series is part of a season-long six-game road trip for SIU.
All three games can be heard live online through Saluki All-Access.
