Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis open midweek play with trip to Lipscomb on Wednesday
03/10/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (5-9-1) at Lipscomb (8-10) | |
| Date | March 11, 2015 |
| Location | Nashville, Tenn. | Draper Diamond |
| Live Stats | Provided by Lipscomb |
| Statistics | Southern Illinois | Lipscomb | MVC |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball | @SIU_Softball | Saluki Softball |
FAST FIVE
- SIU opens midweek play with a trip to Nashville to face Lipscomb on Wednesday, March 11, at 3 p.m. CT. SIU went 6-3 in midweek games last season. The game is the final contest before SIU opens its home and MVC season against Bradley this weekend.
- Southern Illinois is facing Lipscomb for the first time in program history.
- The Salukis have allowed three or fewer runs in three-straight games.
- Brook Womack went 6-for-8 in Monday's doubleheader. She went into Monday with only eight career hits before exploding for six hits and three RBIs, raising her season batting average to .289.
- Southern's top two hitters by average, Savannah Fisher (.313) and Sydney Jones (.303), are freshmen.
FOR STARTERS
The Salukis opens midweek play with a trip to Lipscomb on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT. The teams have never met in softball.
Southern Illinois...
- top five hitters based on batting average are underclassmen.
- has used 14 different batting orders and 14 different position combinations.
- has held three-straight opponents to three or fewer runs. SIU only held its opponent to three or fewer runs once in the first 12 games.
- went 6-3 in midweek games last season.
- has already played three extra-inning games, going 1-1-1 in the three. SIU beat UMBC with an eight-inning walkoff single from Shaye Harre, lost to Ohio State and tied Northern Colorado thanks to an eighth-inning game-tying home run from Meredith Wilson.
- has overcome two big seventh-inning deficits. SIU erased a four-run seventh-inning deficit to beat Morehead State 8-6 with a six-run seventh and erased a five-run seventh-inning deficit in a 10-10 tie with Northern Colorado.
SCOUTING THE LIPSCOMB LADY BISONS
The Lipscomb Lady Bisons started the season with three-straight wins and were 5-2 before a seven-game losing streak halted their momentum. Lipscomb has played a challenging scheduling, with losses to No. 3 Michigan (twice) and No. 3 Alabama in that losing streak. Since, the Lady Bisons have rebounded to win three of their last four games coming into tomorrow's matchup with SIU. Lipscomb has used two pitchers almost evenly, with Kelly Youngs (4-5, 3.80 ERA) pitching 59 innings and Tanner Sanders (4-5, 3.82 ERA) pitching 51.1. Offensively, the Lady Bisons have only hit two home runs all year. They are led by Brittany Elmore, who hits .333. Paige Neely hits .321 and has eight of the team's 22 doubles.
PITCHING STARTING TO ROLL
Southern Illinois' pitching has allowed three or fewer runs in three-straight games after giving up four or more runs in 11 of the season's first 12 games. Katie Bertelsen threw two complete-game wins, a 3-2 win over Northern Illinois and an 8-1 win over Bucknell. Bertelsen took more than a run off her season's ERA with the two dominant performances. In one stretch vs. Northern Illinois, Bertelsen faced 19-straight hitters without giving up a hit. Against Creighton, freshman Savanna Dover threw the best game of her young Saluki career, a complete game against Creighton. While she took the loss in the 3-1 defeat, Dover struck out five in key spots and scattered seven hits in the game.
WOMACK EXPLODES IN FLORIDA
Southern Illinois sophomore Brook Womack went 7-for-10 in Southern's three games in Florida, including 6-for-8 in the doubleheader on Monday. Entering the trip to Florida, Womack had seven hits in her career before doubling that total over the next three games. Including the last game in Mexico, Womack is 8-for-13 in the last four game, improving her season batting average from .120 to .289, which is now third on the team. Womack had five RBIs on the weekend, two against NIU and two more against Bucknell.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING TO LINEUP RIGHT AWAY
The two best batting averages on the team belong to true freshmen. Savannah Fisher (.313) and Sydney Jones (.302) have made an immediate impact for the Salukis in the lineup. Both freshmen already have 5+ game reached base streaks, and Jones has the longest current reached base streak on the team at 13 games. Jones started in all 15 games and reached in 14 of those, and she leads the team with 11 RBIs. Fisher went 2-for-3 in her second game in a Saluki uniform and has reached in 10 of 12 games in which she has an at bat. She went 3-for-7 in her home state of Florida over the weekend with four runs scored, two RBIs, a double, triple and home run.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK
Stanford noticed our white uniforms...
Hey @SIU_Softball, thumbs up on the unis. pic.twitter.com/eiLF6nAt4h
-- Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) March 9, 2015
.@StanfordBSB Thanks. We have smart kids (3.62 team GPA last semester: http://t.co/sNdRJNEvet); figured we'd dress like Stanford.
-- SIU Softball (@SIU_Softball) March 9, 2015
@SIU_Softball That solidifies your spot as our second favorite softball team (behind @StanfordSball of course). #NerdNation
-- Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) March 9, 2015
| Lineup Quick Notes | ||
| 00 | Sydney Jones | True FR...13G reached streak...4G hit streak...Game-winning 2R HR vs. Morehead State...3B, RBI, R vs. #5 Kentucky |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | 2015 MVC All-Tournament team...6-15 (.400) w/ RISP...4-10, 3RBIs w/ 2 outs...Hit. 412 in Mexico. |
| 2 | Brook Womack | Started 12G...8 for last 13...Went 7-10, 5 RBIs last weekend...Singled in first official collegiate AB...4G hit streak |
| 5 | Lacey Newbold | 100 career games & 18 career starts...2-2 in pinch hitting situations in Mexico...12 career stolen bases...Scored 32 career runs |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | Team-best .313 avg...3--5, HR on opening weekend...Reached in 10 of 12 G w/ AB...Only player in MVC w/ multiple triples |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | 6-14 (.429) last four games...Improved BA by .118 from Fr. to So. yr (.210 to .328)...MVC POW (4/28/14) |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | 61 career games & 32 career starts...3 doubles and 2 HRs, both in 2014...2-4 vs. Morehead State...1-4, RBI vs. N. Colorado |
| 12 | Kalyn Harker | 2-time 1st-team MVC Scholar-Athlete (4.0 GPA)...Only 2 career E (.991 career fielding %)...121 career starts...10 2B in 2014 |
| 17 | Kara Kimball | 3 starts in 2015 (1st starts of career)...150 career GP...7 career SB...58 career R...1-for-8 in career |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | True FR...1st career start vs. Charleston So...2-time first-team All-State honoree in HS...Top 10 in state in 7 hitting categories as Sr |
| 24 | Alyssa Wunderlich | Two-time honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete...23 career Ws...4.24 career ERA...262.1 career innings...0 ER in 1.2 IP in 2015 |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | 2014 All-MVC...52 career RBIs...Game-tying grand slam vs. Morehead St...Pitching W & walkoff RBI vs. UMBC...3-3 in last game |
| 27 | Katie Bertelsen | 2014 All-MVC...34 career wins...36 career complete games, including 20 in 2014...2 ER vs. #5 Kentucky...3 ER in last 14 IP (1.5 ERA) |
| 28 | Taylor Harris | 57 career games and 17 career starts...Went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2014....329 career OBP |
| 32 | Jessa Thomas | Started 7x at C in 2015..Caught 2 base stealers in 2015...1.000 FLD%...2-out double started three-run rally vs. UMBC |
| 33 | Meredith Wilson | 2-time All-MVC (2012, 13)...146 career starts...25 career doubles...Two 2-out RBIs vs. Ohio St. |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | True freshman...First career W vs. Morehead State...5 Ks vs. Ohio State (2/7), BYU (2/27) & Creighton (3/9)...CG vs. Creighton |
| Team | 30 R in 6th & 7th inn. combined (+11 margin)...Highest-scoring inning: 6th (17)...Team 41-101 (.406) OBP leading off inning | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | Coached her 800th career game--all at SIU--on March 30 @ Missouri St. ... Highest Win% among MVC 500-win coaches |
