League-leading Drake visits Carbondale for three-game series

04/10/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball

April 10, 2015

SIU (13-18-1, 7-5 MVC) vs. Drake (21-12, 10-2 MVC)
Dates	April 11-12, 2015
Location	Carbondale, Ill. \| Charlotte West Stadium (502) \| Tickets \| Weather
Promotions	Saturday:Brown Dawg's birthday: kids get in free; free admission to all miltary members Sunday: 50 percent off select concession item; kids run bases following game
Game 1	Saturday, April 11 \| 12 p.m. CT \| Video Stream \| Free Audio \| GameTracker \| StatBroadcast
Game 2	Saturday, April 11 \| 2 p.m. CT \| Video Stream \| Free Audio \| GameTracker \| StatBroadcast
Game 3	Sunday, April 12 \| 12 p.m. CT \| Video Stream \| Free Audio \| GameTracker \| StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Southern Illinois \| MVC
Statistics	Southern Illinois \| Drake \| MVC
Series History	SIU leads 53-23 \| SIU W3
Social Media	@SIU_Softball \| @SIU_Softball \| Saluki Softball

FAST FIVE

SIU hosts Drake for a third-straight year because last year's series, which was scheduled to be played in Des Moines, Iowa, was moved to Carbondale due to weather. SIU swept the Bulldogs last year in Carbondale but lost both games in 2013 (the third was canceled).
In MVC play, Kalyn Harker ranks fourth in the league in batting average and on-base percentage (.484/.543), Merri Anne Patterson ranks second in slugging percentage and third in home runs (.848/4), and Katie Bertelsen leads the league in wins (7).
Meredith Wilson is 3-for-7 with an RBI and a double since returning from an injury last weekend against Illinois State.
Sydney Jones is second among freshmen in the MVC with 25 RBIs. Overall, she ranks third in the league catching base stealers with seven.
Since hitting .061 (3-for-49) in a series against UNI, Saluki hitters have hit .276 (43-for-156) in the six games since, including six players hitting .300 or better in that span.

FOR STARTERS
The Salukis host Drake for a three-game series at Charlotte West Stadium on April 11-12. A noon doubleheader on Saturday kicks off the series, and the finale will start at noon on Sunday. The teams are meeting in Carbondale for a third-straight season after last year's game was moved to Carbondale due to weather (Drake was the home team on the scoreboard last year). SIU swept the series last year, but Drake swept a two-game series the year before in Carbondale.

Southern Illinois...

is 7-1 at home and 1-9 on the road.
has won six of its seven MVC games in its last at bat, including three walk-offs.
has used 29 different batting orders and 22 different position combinations in 32 games this year.
has already played five extra-inning games, going 2-2-1. SIU beat UMBC with an eight-inning walkoff single from Shaye Harre, lost to Ohio State and SEMO, and tied Northern Colorado thanks to an eighth-inning game-tying home run from Meredith Wilson. SIU beat Bradley 10-9 in the 10th inning thanks to a two-run walkoff home run from Sydney Jones.
has overcome four four-run 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. In MVC play, both Bradley and Wichita State had early four-run leads before the Salukis came back to win both games.

SCOUTING THE DRAKE BULLDOGS
Drake is leading the Missouri Valley conference entering the weekend with a 10-2 record after four of nine Valley series. The Bulldogs' 21-12 overall record is also the best in the league. In contrast to last weekend, when SIU went up against the MVC's best offensive team in Illinois State, SIU will face the Valley's hottest pitching team in Drake. Drake is leading the MVC in ERA (2.62), opposing batting average (.229), batters struck out (204), fewest hits allowed (191), fewest runs allowed (99), fewest earned runs allowed (79) and fewest doubles allowed (22). Rebekah Schmidt is the staff ace with a 12-8 record and 2.77 ERA in 123.2 innings, but freshman Nicole Newman has been even better statistically. She has a 2.03 ERA, 9-3 record and has allowed opponents to hits just .199 off her. In MVC games, Newman's ERA is 0.85 and Schmidt's is just 2.10--both in the top four in the league. Offensively, Drake is led by Megan Sowa, who has a .365 batting average. Schmidt is also a dangerous hitter, batting .347 with eight doubles and four home runs. Hayley Nybo hits .326 and has a team-best 24 RBIs and .663 slugging percentage. Drake comes into the game on a five-game winning streak and has won 10 of its last 11 games.

Did you know?
In 32 games this season, SIU has used 29 different batting orders.

NAVIGATING THE GAUNTLET
For the second year in a row, SIU faces all the teams picked to finish in the top half of the MVC race in the first four weekends of the year. Southern was picked fourth in the preseason poll, and the other four teams in the top half are all on SIU's schedule in the first four weeks of the season--Bradley (5th), Wichita State (1st), Northern Iowa (3rd) and Illinois State (2nd). SIU is 7-5 after those series, but the tough slate has been extended by at least one weekend. SIU's next opponent is Drake, who is leading the conference with a 10-2 record.

HARKER HOT HITTING
Senior Kalyn Harker comes into the series with a three-game hitting streak and has a hit in 13 of her last 16 games with at least one official at bat. In that 17-game stretch--which also coincides with her move to the No. 2 spot in the lineup--Harker is hitting .458 and slugging .542 thanks to four doubles. She has walked six times (.519 on-base percentage) and stolen five bases. In Missouri Valley games, Harker is hitting .484 and getting on base at a .543 clip, both of which rank fourth in the conference.

COMEBACK KIDS
Southern Illinois has come from behind in nine of its 13 wins and won nine games in its last at bat. SIU has overcome four four-run deficits, as well, and has played five extra-inning games.

The Salukis overcame a three-run sixth-inning deficit against UMBC to win on a Shaye Harre walkoff RBI single.
Southern overcame a four-run seventh-inning deficit against Morehead State with six runs in the seventh to win 8-6.
The Salukis overcame a five-run seventh-inning deficit against Northern Colorado to force extra innings, where Meredith Wilson's eighth-inning home run brough SIU out of another deficit and forced a 10-10 tie.
In Mexico, SIU won on an overthrow to the pitcher in the eighth inning to beat Nevada 6-5.
Two scored on a Caylee Cook ball hit to shallow right field in SIU's final at bat in game one against Bradley to win 2-1.
Trailing by four against Bradley, SIU came back to take the lead. Bradley rallied to take two two-run leads after that, but Southern answered both times, including a game-winning walk-off home run by Sydney Jones to cap a three-run 10th inning that gave SIU a 10-9 win.
Merri Anne Patterson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to give SIU a 4-3 win in the series opener with Wichita State.
Brook Womack hit a walk-off RBI single to beat Wichita State in game two. Again trailing by four, this time against Wichita State, SIU rallied for a 7-6 win on Merri Anne Patterson's walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Trailing SIUE--which had a team ERA below 2.00 entering the game--in the fifth inning, Lacey Newbold hit a go-ahead two-run home run that started a five-run blitz over the final two innings. SIU beat SIUE 5-1 and broke the Cougars' 10-game winning streak.
SIU fell behind 2-1 to Illinois State but scored three unanswered runs in the final two innings to complete the comeback 4-2 win. Sydney Jones hit the game-tying homer in the sixth and Merri Anne Patterson hit the go-ahead double in the seventh.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Salukis are 7-1 at Charlotte West Stadium in 2015 after dropping a game to Saint Louis earlier this week. SIU's 7-0 start was the fourth-best start at home without a loss since West Stadium was built prior to the 2003 season. Southern played its first 16 games away from Carbondale, going 5-10-1. The next six games were at home, and SIU won them all to go over the .500 mark for the first time this year at 11-10-1 after the Wichtia State series. SIU is 186-65 in 11+ seasons at Charlotte West Stadium, which includes a 12-7 mark last season. Southern has a winning record in all 11 seasons it has played at West Stadium; with eight home games remaining on the schedule this season, SIU is just two home wins away from extending that streak to 12. As a team, SIU is hitting .342 at home, with Kalyn Harker (.519), Kelsey Gonzalez (.462) and Merri Anne Patterson (.423) all hitting better than .400. Savanna Dover has a 1.24 ERA in 11.1 innings at home and a .171 opponent batting average.

BERTELSEN LEADS LEAGUE WITH 7 MVC WINS
Southern Illinois ace Katie Bertelsen has earned all seven MVC wins for the Salukis. She has thrown seven complete games in Valley play, four of which have been wins. She had two complete-game wins against both Bradley and Wichita State. Against Illinois State, she was bounced after just 2.2 innings in the opener but rebounded to four-hit the Redbirds in the finale, a 4-2 win. Overall, Bertelsen's 11 wins rank third in the league behind Wichita's Katie Malone, whom Bertelsen beat head-to-head, and Drake's Rebekah Scmidt, who she'll see this weekend.

DOVER QUIETLY EMERGING
With Bertelsen taking 14 of the last 18 decisions, Savanna Dover hasn't piled up any wins; but she's pitched well enough over the month to win several games. Dover hasn't given up more than four earned runs in any appearance since SIU got back from Mexico, starting with a complete game against Creighton. She threw three scoreless innings against Bradley and another 3.1 scoreless against Saint Louis. Since coming back from Mexico, Dover's ERA (3.87) and opposing batting average (.250) are team-bests in her 34.1 innings, and she's allowed only three extra base hits in that time, two doubles and just one home run.

JONES: ONE OF TOP FROSH IN MVC
True freshman Sydney Jones is proving herself as one of the top freshmen in the Missouri Valley Conference. Starting with the third game of her collegiate career, Jones embarked on a 16-game reached base streak, which is the best on the team this year. She's riding a four-game hitting streak into the weekend, which includes two home runs. She leads the team with six home runs and 25 RBIs this year, including a walkoff two-run bomb in the 10th inning to beat Bradley, 10-9, and a go-ahead, game-winning two-run homer in the top of the seventh of an 8-6 win over Morehead State. Her 25 RBIs rank her second in the league among freshmen. Behind the plate, she's thrown out seven would-be base stealers, which ranks third in the league overall.

Lineup Quick Notes
00	Sydney Jones	Team-best 25 RBIs...Reached in 26 of 32G...Game-winning 2R HR vs. Morehead State...Walkoff 2R HR vs. BU (G2)
1	Merri Anne Patterson	2015 MVC All-Tournament team...Game-winning HR in B6 vs. WSU (G1)...Walk-off HR B7 vs. WSU (G3)....843 slg% in MVC (2nd)
2	Brook Womack	28 starts...Walk-off RBI single vs. Wichita State (G2)...Hit first career HR vs. BU...2 doubles, 2 HRs, 6 RBI in MVC games
5	Lacey Newbold	116 career G; 29 career starts...13 career SB...2-RBI 2B to tie game vs. WSU...Go-ahead 2R HR vs. SIUE (First HR of career)
6	Savannah Fisher	3-5, HR on opening weekend...One of six players in MVC w/ multiple triples...7 of 15 hits this season are extra base hits
7	Kelsey Gonzalez	Hitting .333 since moving to leadoff @LIP...7 multi-hit games in last 21...3 doubles, ..357 OBP in MVC play
10	Caylee Cook	68 career G & 34 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)...Robbed HR @LIP....484 BA in MVC games (4th in MVC)....458 average in last 17 games \| FEATURE
17	Kara Kimball	5 starts in 2015 (1st starts of career)...159 career GP...7 career SB...60 career R...Former walk-on...Played on torn ACL in HS \| FEATURE
23	Jessica Heese	True FR...1st career start vs. Charleston So...Got 1st career hit vs. Wichita State...Started 7 of last 10G in RF
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...59 career RBIs...Game-tying grand slam vs. Morehead St...Pitching W & walkoff RBI vs. UMBC...6-13 in last 3G
27	Katie Bertelsen	2014 All-MVC...42 career wins (8th in SIU history)...44 career CG, including 20 in 2014...2 ER vs. #5 Kentucky...34 CG in last 2 years \| FEATURE
28	Taylor Harris	67 career games and 22 career starts...Went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2014....329 career OBP
32	Jessa Thomas	Started 15x 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)...152 career starts...3-7 since return from inj...2 2-out RBIs vs. Ohio St...Game-tying B8 HR vs. N Colo.
59	Savanna Dover	True freshman...First career W vs. Morehead State...Allowed only 3 extra-base hits in last 34.1 innings...CG vs. Creighton
	Team	54R in 6th & 7th inn. combined (+22 margin)...88-212 OBP leading off inning (.415)...29 batting orders in 32G
HC	Kerri Blaylock	Coached her 800th career game--all at SIU--on March 30, 2014, @ Missouri St. ... Highest Win% among MVC 500-win coaches...550th career W this season vs. Wichita State

SALUKIS REBOUND TO SNAP SIUE'S 10-GAME WINNING STREAK
Southern Illinois had a six-game winning streak to start MVC play 6-0 for the first time since 2010, marking the ninth time in the last 12 years SIU has had at least a six-game Valley winning streak at some point in MVC play. Murray State snapped the streak with a 6-4 mid-week win, and then Northern Iowa swept the Salukis in three run-rule games. SIU rebounded to beat SIUE, snapping the Cougars' 10-game winning streak. In the game, Southern beat a pitcher (Baylee Douglass) that came in with a 10-2 record and 1.71 ERA and beat a team that came in with an RPI of 36.

PATTERSON'S BAT CLICKING
Sophomore Merri Anne Patterson ranks second in the MVC in slugging percentage in league games at .848, and all four of her home runs have come in MVC play. She hit a game-winning bomb in the bottom of the sixth to beat Wichita in game one, then a walk-off homer in the series finale to give SIU another win. In her last 15 games, Patterson is hitting .356 with 12 runs scored, 10 RBIs, three doubles, four home runs and three stolen bases while playing error-free ball in the outfield.

LINEUP SHAKEUP WORKS
Head coach Kerri Blaylock mixed up the lineup against Lipscomb right before MVC play started. Centerfielder Kalyn Harker batted leadoff for the season's first 14 games, but Blaylock moved Harker to the No. 2 spot and bumped Kelsey Gonzalez up to the No. 1 hole against Lipscomb. Since the move, both Gonzalez and Harker have been on fire. Harker is hitting .458 since the move (22-for-48) and Gonzalez is at .333 (18-for-54), the top two marks on the team in that span. The pair have combined for eight doubles, eight RBIs, 19 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

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.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Saluki lineup is young. Seven of the top eight hitters this season by batting average return next year, and five of those seven are underclassmen.

BERTELSEN SHINES AGAINST TOP COMPETITION
SIU senior pitcher Katie Bertelsen has pitched her best games against the best competition throughout her career. Late last season, Bertelsen faced eventual MVC champion Wichita State, which led the league in 10 offensive categories. Bertelsen shut down the Shockers in a 2-1, allowing WSU to go just 4-for-24 against her. Against No. 5 Kentucky, which is coming off a Women's College World Series appearance, Bertelsen pitched one of her best games in 2015, allowing just two earned runs in a 5-2 loss. Against against Wichita State, this year's preseason MVC favorite, Bertelsen got all three wins in the series sweep.

EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
All 17 players on SIU's roster played in its 8-6 win over Morehead State. All 14 position players have at least one start this year, and 16 of 17 players have started at least one game. The only player without a start is senior pitcher Alyssa Wunderlich, who has yet to give up an earned run in 2015. All 11 players with at least 11 at-bats has recorded at least two hits.

HARRE: AS COOL AS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PILLOW
SIU super sophomore Shaye Harre has been clutch for the Salukis in 2015. She showcased her two-way ability in Southern Illinois' 4-3 win over UMBC on the opening day of the season. Harre pitched 5.2 innings, allowing only two earned runs, in relief to help SIU stay within striking distance. After the Salukis tied the game at three, Harre came up in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on second; and she hit a walkoff RBI single to complete her 3-for-4 day at the plate.

Against Morehead State, the Salukis trailed by four in the seventh inning when Harre came to the plate with the bases loaded. She hit a game-tying grand slam ahead of Sydney Jones' game-winning two-run home run. In the second game of the Bradley series, Harre came up in the eighth inning with the Salukis down a run, but she singled home the game-tying run. Then again in the 10th, Harre doubled to keep the inning alive, and SIU eventually won with a three-run 10th. In the middle game against Wichita State, Harre again led off the final inning with a double, which became the game-winning run on Brook Womack's walk-off RBI single.

PLAYING FOR JC
Saluki Softball will be Playing for JC all season long. JC Bass is a two-and-a-half year old friend of Saluki sophomore Merri Anne Patterson. JC has brain cancer and will be going through a six-month chemotherapy treatment throughout the spring. To assist with JC's medical bills, donate at http://www.gofundme.com/fdvqow. Follow JC's battle on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pullin-for-JC/1492123607727346.

SALUKIS PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
SIU was picked fourth in the MVC preseason coaches poll for a second-straight year. Last season, Southern went on to a 15-11 MVC season and a third-place finish, the 12th top-three finish in head coach Kerri Blaylock's 15 seasons. SIU lost five starters from that team but returns four of its top five hitters and No. 1 starter Katie Bertelsen. None of Southern's players were listed on the preseason All-MVC team, but Shaye Harre hit .368 in MVC games last year on her way to second-team All-MVC honors, and Bertelsen won nine games in MVC play and had just a 3.19 ERA in league play.

Last year's regular season champion, Wichita State, earned the preseason nod as the favorite in the conference. Illinois State and Northern Iowa were the other schools ahead of SIU.

GONZALEZ, HARKER, WILSON NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Junior Kelsey Gonzalez, senior Kalyn Harker and senior Meredith Wilson were named the 2015 team captains, head coach Kerri Blaylock announced in August. Gonzalez hit .328 last year, second in the MVC among shortstops. Harker, in addition to being one of the best outfielders in the MVC (only one career error and .995 career fielding percentage), hit .313 as a junior last year and showcased an impressive combination of power (10 doubles) and speed (14 stolen bases). Wilson is a two-time All-MVC hitter with 131 career starts for the Salukis under her belt. She has a .449 career slugging percentage and hit a walk-off single to beat MVC Pitcher of the Year Brittany Gardner and Loyola.

BERTELSEN LEADS PITCHERS IN 2014
SIU senior Katie Bertelsen will lead the pitching staff in 2015. Bertelsen threw more than twice as many innings as any other pitcher on the staff in 2014, logging 188.1 innings. Bertie won 14 games, including nine in MVC play. Fellow senior Alyssa Wunderlich and sophomore Shaye Harre also return after seeing time at pitcher in 2014. Wunderlich led the team in ERA in 2012 and got three wins in 33 innings last year. Harre also won three games and pitched 44 innings for the Salukis last season. Freshman Savanna Dover is expected to be a heavy contributer right away. The newcomer threw four career no-hitters in high school and pitched a five-inning no-no in the fall season.

GONZALEZ HAS BREAKOUT SOPH SEASON
SIU junior captain Kelsey Gonzalez is coming off a breakout sophomore season. Gonzalez started all 52 games in her freshman year and hit .210. Last season, Gonzalez hit .328 in 47 starts and 51 total games. She hit at nearly every spot in the lineup and ended the year in the middle of the lineup. She earned MVC Player of the Week honors after she slugged .933 against Wichita State. She had two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and 14 total bases in leading Southern to a series win over the eventual MVC champion Shockers.

HARRE HAS MONSTER FRESHMAN SEASON
Shaye Harre was immediately a force in the middle of the lineup for SIU as a freshman. She was second on the team in 2014 with a .329 average and hit an even better .368 in MVC play. She led the team with 43 RBIs, second in program history among freshman. Her on-base percentage, RBIs, doubles and walks all ranked among the top 10 in the MVC. Harre joined Bertelsen as a second-team All-MVC honoree after the season.

TEAM OVERVIEW
SIU is replacing five starting positional players this year. Last year's starters included four spots around the infield (C, 1B, 2B, 3B) and one outfielder. Jayna Spivey, last year's second baseman, was a four-time All-MVC player and led the team in hitting last year with a .337 average.

Southern returns four of its top five hitters and the team's No. 1 pitcher, Katie Bertelsen. Shaye Harre (.329), Kelsey Gonzalez (.328) and Kalyn Harker (.313) all return after hitting better than .300 last year. Freshman Sydney Jones and sophomore Jessa Thomas are splitting time at the catcher spot, while Jones and Kara Kimball have been splitting time at third base.

CONTINUING TRADITION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Saluki Softball posted a team GPA of 3.616 in the fall 2014 semester. All 17 players in the program earned at least a 3.2 GPA during the semester. SIU has a history as one of the best academic and athletic softball programs in the country under head coach Kerri Blaylock. Southern Illinois has posted a team GPA among the top-20 nationally in 13 of the past 14 academic years, including ten top-10 finishes. Since the NCAA began publicly recognizing softball programs that finish in the top 10 percent of their sport academically, Saluki Softball has been recognized six times and is the only program in the MVC to earn the honor even once. Earlier this season, Merri Anne Patterson earned MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors after her two game-winning home runs vs. Wichita State. Patterson has a 3.9 GPA in exercise science.

FOLLOW US
The official Twitter and Instagram of Saluki softball is @SIU_Softball. This account features team news as well as live in-game updates. Fans can also follow Saluki Athletics @SIUSalukis for news on all SIU sports. Saluki Softball is also on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball.

ON THE AIR
Southern Illinois will broadcast every Saluki Softball game on Saluki All-Access. Bryce Williams is entering his third season as the Voice of Saluki Women's Sports and will call the play-by-play. Allie VadeBoncouer, who served as the catcher for SIU for the last three seasons, will be the analyst for all home games. Home games will also be video streamed by Saluki Video Services, led by director Shane Gibbons and produced by Anthony Giase.