Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU picked fourth in preseason poll
01/21/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
MVC Release
ST. LOUIS - The Southern Illinois softball team was picked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, the league announced Wednesday. Wichita State, Illinois State and Northern Iowa were picked ahead of the Salukis.
SIU was also picked fourth in last season's preseason poll, and Southern went on to a 15-11 conference season and third-place finish. SIU has finished among the top three in the MVC in 12 of head coach Kerri Blaylock's 15 seasons as head coach.
Southern returns five starters from last year's team, including 2014 second-team All-MVC pitcher Katie Bertelsen and second-team All-MVC first baseman Shaye Harre. Bertelsen won 14 games for Southern last season and pitched 20 complete games. Harre hit .368 in MVC play and ranked among the top-10 hitters in the MVC in on-base percentage, RBIs, doubles and walks.
Southern Illinois also returns a lot of production with the 2015 team captains, Kelsey Gonzalez, Kalyn Harker and Meredith Wilson. Gonzalez, a junior shortstop, hit .328 last year in the middle of the lineup. Harker has a career .995 fielding percentage and hit .313 at the top of the lineup for SIU last year, and Wilson is a two-time All-MVC player with a .293 career average.
The Salukis start the season on Feb. 6, when they take on Ohio State at the Charleston Southern Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
| Preseason MVC Poll (First-place votes) | |
| 1 | Wichita State (7) |
| 2 | Illinois State (1) |
| 3 | Northern Iowa (1) |
| 4 | Southern Illinois |
| 5 | Bradley |
| 6 | Drake (1) |
| 7 | Missouri State |
| 8 | Loyola |
| 9 | Indiana State |
| 10 | Evansville |
