Southern heads to Murray State for mid-week contest

03/23/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball

March 23, 2015

SIU (11-10-1) at Murray State (16-10)
Date	March 24, 2015 \| 4 p.m. CT
Location	Murray, Ky. \| Racer Field (500)
Live Stats	Provided by Murray State
Free Audio	Internet Only (Bryce Williams play-by-play)
Statistics	Southern Illinois \| Murray State \| MVC
Series History	SIU leads 2-0 \| SIU W2
Social Media	@SIU_Softball \| @SIU_Softball \| Saluki Softball

FOR STARTERS
After a six-game home stand, Southern Illinois hits the road for a mid-week game against Murray State. The game marks Southern's second mid-week game of the season after dropping a 3-2 ballgame at Lipscomb two weeks ago. Southern Illinois is riding a six-game winnings streak--all of which have been Missouri Valley Conference games. SIU and Murray State have only met twice previously, with Southern winning both games. The Salukis took a 4-2 decision in 2012 and won a run-rule game last year 9-1 at Charlotte West Stadium.

Southern Illinois...

has won six-straight games and is over the .500 mark for the first time this season at 11-10-1
has won three-straight games by one run, including two walk-off wins this past weekend against Wichita State
has hit 20 of its 32 doubles this season in the last eight games
is looking to improve its mid-week record to 1-1. Last season, SIU went 6-3 in mid-week games
has won eight of its games in its last at bat, including walk-off wins against UMBC, Bradley and Wichita State (twice)

SCOUTING THE RACERS
Murray State is coming off back-to-back run-rule wins over Tennessee State this past weekend, and it scored 19 runs in the pair. The Racers have faced a challenging schedule, with three losses coming to nationally ranked teams and two more coming against SIU-Edwardsville, which went to the NCAA Tournament last season and is 23-6. On offense, MSU is led by Jessica Twaddle, who has a .452 batting average 26 games into the schedule. As a team, the Racers hit .314 and have 42 doubles and 27 home runs this year. In the circle, the Racers have a pair of aces. CheyAnne Gaskey (8-5, 2.83 ERA) and Mason Robinson (7-3, 3.23 ERA) have both pitched exactly 69.1 innings, and they have nearly identical opposing batting averages (.224 for Gaskey; .228 for Robinson).

PATTERSON EARNS MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Merri Anne Patterson earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday after hitting two game-winning home runs in the series against Wichita State. Patterson hit .462 in SIU's 4-0 week, which included an 8-3 win over Bradley last Monday to complete a three-game sweep of the Braves. She slugged 1.231 in the four games, going 6-for-13 with a double, three home runs, seven RBIs, five runs scored and a stolen base. In the series opener with WSU, Patterson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth that was the difference in a 4-3 win. In the series finale, Patterson hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the seventh in a 7-6 win.

BERTELSEN COLLECTING THE Ws
Katie Bertelsen has won all six games in Southern's six-game winning streak, improving her season record to 9-5. Bertelsen has taken the decision in eight-straight SIU games, going 7-1. In her last eight decisions, that mark improves to 8-1. In those nine decisions, she has a 3.04 ERA and has pitched six complete games; she has finished every game she has started. Opponents are hitting a paltry .259 on the senior righty and she has allowed only 15 extra base hits in 50.2 innings.

DOVER QUIETLY EMERGING
While Katie Bertelsen has had most of the decisions, freshman pitcher Savanna Dover has come into her own over the last couple weeks for the Salukis. Dover has posted a 2.88 ERA in the last 10 games. She has made four appearances and two starts; in her 17 innings in that span, Dover has allowed just 16 hits. She gave Southern a complete game against Creighton, allowing just three earned runs. In the second game of the Bradley series, Dover entered in relief and gave the Salukis three scoreless innings. A week later, she allowed just two earned runs in five innings to keep Southern within striking distance of Wichita State, and the Salukis came back to win 7-6 after trailing 4-0 early.

OFFENSE EMERGES DURING MVC PLAY
After two MVC series, Southern's offense is leading the league in batting average at .345. In the last five games alone, Southern has seen its team season-long batting average rise 33 points (from .229 to .262). A number of Salukis are on fire in MVC play. Kalyn Harker is riding a seven-game hitting streak into the Murray State matchup, and she's hitting .571 in conference play. Merri Anne Patterson and Kelsey Gonzalez are both hitting .450, and Shaye Harre (.381), Brook Womack (.350) and Sydney Jones (.304) are all hitting better than .300 in MVC play.

Lineup Quick Notes
00	Sydney Jones	Reached in 19 of 22G...Game-winning 2R HR vs. Morehead St...Walkoff 2R HR vs. BU (G2)...3B, RBI, R vs. #5 Kentucky
1	Merri Anne Patterson	2015 MVC All-Tournament team...Walk-off HR in G3 vs. Wichita State...Game-winning HR in B6 in G1 vs. Wichita State...Five-game hit streak
2	Brook Womack	Started 19G...4G hit streak...Hit in 9 of last 11G (hitting .452 in that span)...2 2Bs, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs in last four games
5	Lacey Newbold	107 career G; 22 career starts...Reached in 4 of last 5G...2-run, 2-out double in G2 to tie Wichita State...2-4, R in series vs. BU
6	Savannah Fisher	4G reached streak...3-5, HR on opening weekend...10th in MVC in slg% (.565)...One of three players in MVC w/ multiple triples
7	Kelsey Gonzalez	17-37 (.457) last 11G...Improved BA by .118 from Fr. to So. yr (.210 to .328)...MVC POW (4/28/14) after WSU series last yr
10	Caylee Cook	64 career G & 33 career starts...3 2Bs and 2 HRs, both in 2014...2-4 vs. Morehead State...1-4, RBI vs. N. Colorado
12	Kalyn Harker	2-time MVC Scholar-Athlete (4.0 GPA)...2 career E (.992 career fld%)...Robbed HR @LIP...7-10 in Bradley series...7G hit streak \| FEATURE
17	Kara Kimball	3 starts in 2015 (1st starts of career)...155 career GP...7 career SB...60 career R...Former walk-on
23	Jessica Heese	True FR...1st career start vs. Charleston So...First career hit last weekend vs. Wichita State
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...54 career RBIs...Game-tying grand slam vs. Morehead St...Pitching W & walkoff RBI vs. UMBC...Started all 74G in car
27	Katie Bertelsen	2014 All-MVC...40 career wins (8th in SIU history)...40 career CG, including 20 in 2014...2 ER vs. #5 Kentucky...8-1 in last 9 decisions \| FEATURE
28	Taylor Harris	60 career games and 19 career starts...Went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2014....329 career OBP
32	Jessa Thomas	Started 11x at C in 2015..Caught 3 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)...151 career starts...25 career doubles...Two 2-out RBIs vs. Ohio St...Game-tying HR vs. N Colorado
59	Savanna Dover	First career W vs. Morehead St...2.88 ERA in last 17 IP...5 Ks vs. Ohio State (2/7), BYU (2/27) & Creighton (3/9)...CG vs. Creighton
	Team	Won 6-straight & 8 of last 10...42R in 6th & 7th inn. combined (+14 margin)...68-150 (.453) OBP leading off inn
HC	Kerri Blaylock	Coached her 800th career game--all at SIU--on March 30 @ Missouri St. ... Highest Win% among MVC 500-win coaches...Won career G 550 in G1 vs. Wichita State