Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU wraps up mid-weeks with trip to Eastern Illinois
04/28/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (19-23-1) at Eastern Illinois (17-24) | |
| Date | Wednesday, April 29, 2015 | 4 p.m. CT |
| Location | Charleston, Ill. | Williams Field (200) |
| Follow Along | Wednesday, April 29 | 4 p.m. CT | Free Audio | Live Stats provided by EIU |
| Statistics | Southern Illinois | Eastern Illinois | MVC |
| Series History | SIU leads 33-31 | EIU W2 |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
FOR STARTERS
Southern Illinois travels to Eastern Illinois for its last mid-week game of the year. The Salukis and Panthers are set for a 4 p.m. first pitch from Williams Field in Charleston. EIU has won back-to-back games in the series, a 7-6 win in Carbondale last year and an 8-0 win in Charleston the year before. SIU is 3-5 in mid-week games this year after topping Evansville last Wednesday at home. The game is also the final regular season non-conference game before Missouri State comes to Carbondale for a three-game series to close the regular season this weekend.
SCOUTING THE EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHER
Eastern Illinois is 17-24 after dropping two of three at Southeast Missouri over the weekend. Hannah Cole (.363), Bailey O'Dell (.361) and April Markowski (.344) have impressive batting averages and have also combined for 30 doubles, 19 home runs and 80 RBIs. The team has a .284 batting average, but EIU pitchers are allowing opponents to hit .304 on them. Jessica Wireman (10-11, 3.82 ERA) is the staff ace with 132 innings, and Michelle Rogers (6-12, 4.64 ERA) has also seen more than 100 innings. Hannah Rachor, who pitched against SIU last year, has just 22 innings this season.
BERTELSEN ON A ROLL
SIU ace Katie Bertelsen has been dominant over the last two weeks. In her last seven appearances, Bertelsen has a 0.95 ERA and five wins, including two complete-game shutouts. She posted back-to-back complete-game MVC shutouts in consecutive starts; after she blanked Evansville 2-0, she held Loyola scoreless in an 8-0 win. In that span (37.0 innings), opponents are hitting just .216 of the senior righty and only have five extra base hits to go along with 24 singles. On Sunday at Indiana State, Bertelsen only allowed one earned run in 12 innings to lower her season ERA to 4.23, the lowest its been since the Wichita State series in mid-March.
HARKER'S HIT STREAK REACHES NINE
Senior Kalyn Harker hit in both games of a doubleheader at Indiana State on Sunday, pushing her hitting streak to nine games. After having a streak of eight games earlier this year that was the best mark on the team, Harker bested her own streak with hits in the last nine games. The Lebanon, Ind., native is hitting .469 in MVC games, which leads the league by 20 points heading into the regular season's final week.
WILSON AND GONZALEZ HAVE REACHING IN 13 STRAIGHT
Senior Meredith Wilson and junior Kelsey Gonzalez have both reached base in 13 consecutive games entering the game at Eastern Illinois. Wilson was injured in a series against Wichita State and missed two weeks. Since returning, she has reached in 14 of 15 games, including 13-straight. Gonzalez was moved to the leadoff spot in the order prior to MVC play and has flourished in the role. In the 28 games since batting leadoff, Gonzalez has reached in 22 of them and has an on-base percentage north of ..400. She has stolen five bases in that span, too, to go along with five doubles and a home run.
COMEBACK KIDS
Southern Illinois overcame a six-run deficit in its 7-6 win at Indiana State on Sunday. Trailing 6-0 in the fourth inning, Jessa Thomas hit a bases-clearing, 3-run double to start the rally. Brook Womack hit a sac fly and scored the game-tying run in the seventh off another Thomas double. After Kalyn Harker stretched a double into a triple to start the eighth, Meredith Wilson came through with a clutch RBI single to score the winning run. Southern has overcome deficits of at least four runs five times this season, with three of those five rallies starting in the sixth inning or later.
TRENDING UP SIU has a young lineup with seven players that will return next year. Southern Illinois has been streaky throughout the season. The Salukis started Valley play with back-to-back sweeps for a 6-0 conference record. Southern then lost eight out of nine MVC games, but it has rebounded to win six of its last eight.
