Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball hosts Wichita State in final home series this weekend
05/07/2009 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
May 7, 2009
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
Games 46-48
Southern Illinois (20-25, 8-9) vs. Wichita State (24-24, 8-7)
Dates: Friday-Sunday, May 8-10
Location: Carbondale, Ill.
Series Schedule: Fri. - 3 p.m.; Sat. - 2 p.m.; Sun. - 1 p.m., CT
Stadium: Abe Martin Field (2,000)
Head Coaches: SIU: Dan Callahan (410-415-1, 193-226-1 MVC/15th Year); WSU: Gene Stephenson (1,677-574-3, 532-170 MVC/32nd Year)
Radio: WFRX 1300 AM. Mike Reis (Play-by-Play)
Audio Webcast: www.siusalukis.com (Saluki All-Access)
Live Stats: www.siusalukis.com
Weather Forecast: Friday - Thunderstorms, 72 degrees; Saturday - Partly Cloudy, 72 degrees; Sunday - Partly Cloudy, 70 degrees
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday - RHP Adam Curynski (1-4, 4.68 ERA) vs. RHP Tim Kelley (4-3, 2.29 ERA)
Saturday - LHP Jimmy Cornell (2-1, 2.68 ERA) vs. LHP Charlie Lowell (5-2, 3.23 ERA)
Sunday - RHP Andrew Dunn (6-4, 2.35 ERA) vs. RHP Jordan Cooper (6-5, 3.16 ERA)
Salukis Host Shockers in Final Home Series
Southern Illinois University hosts Wichita State in its final home games of the season this weekend. The Salukis and Shockers open a three-game series on Friday at 3 p.m., CT.
Senior Day
SIU will honor its six seniors -- 2B Scott Elmendorf, C Mark Kelly, RHP Adam Curynski, RHP David Kington, LHP Daniel Wells and RHP Andrew Dunn -- prior to Saturday's game against Wichita State. Elmendorf, Kelly and Wells have played four years at SIU, while Curynski, Kington and Dunn played two seasons.
Heating Up Down the Stretch
The Salukis, after ending the first half of Missouri Valley Conference play on an eight-game losing streak, have since won five of their last six league games. SIU goes for its third-straight series win in the Valley after sweeping Illinois State (4/24-26) and winning two of three at Bradley (5/1-3).
Where they Stand
SIU is currently sixth in the MVC with six conference games remaining. The Salukis (8-9, .471) are 1.5 games ahead of Evansville (7-11, .389) and three percentage points behind fifth-place Illinois State (9-10, .474). Meanwhile, Creighton (14-3, .824), Indiana State (12-4, .750), Missouri State (11-5, .688) and Wichita State (8-7, .533) occupy the top-four spots in the standings. The top-six teams advance to the 2009 State Farm MVC Tournament which will be held in Wichita, Kan., May 20-23.
Series History
Friday marks the 116th meeting between SIU and Wichita State. The Salukis are 29-86 all-time against the Shockers. The 86 losses are SIU's most in a series against any MVC team. The Dawgs are 14-50 against WSU under head coach Dan Callahan. Since SIU's series win at WSU in 2006, the Salukis have only beaten the Shockers one time in nine games.
