Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball gearing up for 2011 season
01/28/2011 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Jan. 28, 2011
By Jason Clay
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team is set to begin its preparations for the 2011 season, as Friday is the first day the Salukis can practice together as a team.
Southern has been going through individual workouts since returning from winter break and Friday is the first day they can come together as a unit.
Interim head coach Ken Henderson, who begins his 21st season coaching at SIU, said that this is one of the hardest working teams he's coached and he is excited to get them all out on the field.
"The thing I like about this club the most is how good the guys are," Henderson said. "They seem to take care of business and are very good workers. It's the best group we've had as a group in the weight room since I've been here."
Southern Illinois is going to have a young squad this season, as 19 of its 28 players are either freshmen or sophomores.
The one area of the team that is the most proven is its lineup. The Salukis return their top five hitters from last year's unit that hit .308, which was SIU's highest team batting average since 1998.
"Going into it, (the offense) should be the strength of our ball club," Henderson said. "It's the part of the club that has the fewest question marks. We obviously return some guys who had great seasons last year. We return some very talented kids and we expect to be a very good offensive team."
Leading the way is junior first baseman Chris Serritella, who was a First Team All-MVC selection in 2010. Serritella, a .353 career hitter, ranked in the top five of eight different offensive categories in the Valley last year and his 64 RBIs in 2010 tied for the second most in a year in school history.
One of the biggest challenges that Southern faces in 2011 is its schedule. 37 of its scheduled 57 games are on the road, including 16 of its first 18, and nine of SIU's 14 weekend series will be away from Carbondale.
"It's the most challenging schedule we've had in my 21 years here," Henderson said. "We're traveling a lot, so that is a bit of a concern with such a young team. It's going to be a challenge, but I think it will pay off in the end and it will get us to where we want to be."
The Salukis start the year by playing in the Louisiana Tech Tournament, Feb. 18-20, in Ruston, La. After that, SIU plays a midweek game at UT Martin before traveling to Columbia, S.C. for a weekend series against defending national champion South Carolina.
