Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Baseball hosts UT Martin Wednesday at Abe Martin Field
04/17/2012 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
April 17, 2012
By Scott Gierman
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team will begin a five-game homestand on Wednesday with a non-conference game against Tennessee-Martin at 3 p.m. at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis (18-18, 5-4 MVC) will look to snap a five-game losing streak and get back over the .500 mark as they try for a season split against the Skyhawks (10-25, 4-8 OVC).
SERIES INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, April 18
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Carbondale, Ill.
Site: Abe Martin Field
Radio: WFRX 1300-AM
Video: Game Central
WEDNESDAY'S STARTER Junior Nathan Dorris will make his second consecutive midweek start after starting the Salukis first seven Sunday games. After struggling in his previous four starts, he showed strong signs of improvement in his last start, last Tuesday at Southeast Missouri State. Dorris matched his longest outing of the year as he allowed three earned runs in seven innings and struck out nine batters, a career high for the first year Saluki. Dorris made his first relief appearance on Saturday at Dallas Baptist. He retired the first of the four batters he faced. The next three batters reached on a dropped third strike, an error and then a walk.
UT MARTIN SERIES NOTES SIU leads the all-time series, 24-8, but has dropped the last three meetings against the Skyhawks. UT Martin took the first game against SIU this season. The Skyhawks scored seven runs in the third inning and won by a final of 9-4. The Salukis last win against Tennessee-Martin was on March 10, 2010 at Abe Martin Field. Prior to their current three-game losing streak against the Skyhawks, the Salukis had won seven of their last eight against UT Martin.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS Tennessee-Martin lost two out of three games this weekend at home against Jacksonville State. With the losses, the Skyhawks have dropped nine of their last 11 games. They are hitting just .260 as a team but are led offensively by Jordan Owen. Owen is hitting .367 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. He was two-for-four with a three-run home run in the game against SIU earlier this year. The Skyhawks have a team ERA of 6.82, which ranks ninth in the 10 team Ohio Valley Conference. Danny Kelley will make his third start of the year for UT Martin. He is 0-2 with a 9.18 ERA in 16 innings of work.
POWER SURGE Southern Illinois leads the conference with 31 home runs this season, which is tied for the 21st most in the nation. It is also 10 more than SIU's season total in 2011. Chris Serritella and Jordan Sivertsen rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference with nine and eight home runs, respectively. The Salukis' power numbers have increased since the start of conference season. In 15 games since their first MVC contest, the Dawgs have hit 19 of their 31 home runs.
LOOKING AHEAD The Salukis will host conference rival Creighton for a three-game series this weekend at Abe Martin Field. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m. SIU will remain at home next week as well for a 3 p.m. game on Tuesday, April 24 against Southeast Missouri State.
