Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Softball set for two mid-week games
04/05/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (13-16-1) vs. Saint Louis (23-12) | |
| Date | April 6, 2015 | 5 p.m. CT |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium (502) | Tickets | Weather |
| Follow Along | StatBroadcast | GameTracker | Video Stream ($) | Free Audio (Bryce Williams pbp) |
| Promotion | Dollar Dawg Night -- $1 hot dog with purchase of a large drink |
| Statistics | Southern Illinois | Saint Louis | MVC |
| Series History | SIU leads 45-3 | SIU W1 |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
| SIU (13-16-1) at SEMO (9-18) | |
| Date | April 8, 2015 | 4 p.m. CT |
| Location | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Southeast Softball Complex (600) |
| Follow Along | Live Stats Provided by GoSoutheast.com | Free Video Stream | Free Audio (Bryce Williams pbp) |
| Statistics | Southern Illinois | SEMO | MVC |
| Series History | SIU leads 76-28-1 | SEMO W1 |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball | @SIU_Softball | Saluki Softball |
FOR STARTERS
SIU has a pair of mid-week games, the first time this season Southern will play multiple mid-week games. Southern hosts Saint Louis on Monday at 5 p.m. in Charlotte West Stadium and will try to continue its 7-0 home start. Then, the Salukis hit the road for a game at Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. That game will be streamed for free on the OVC Digital Network. SIU went 2-2 last week, with both wins coming against teams with national RPIs in the top 60. SIU snapped SIUE's 10-game winning streak with a 5-1 win at home last Wednesday, then took one of three games at Illinois State over the weekend, coming from behind to win the finale 4-2.
SCOUTING THE SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS
Saint Louis is riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping Rhode Island on the road over the weekend. SLU has a potent offense and has scored at least five runs in 10 of its last 12 games; the Billikens are 8-4 in those games. Six SLU players are hitting better than .300, led by Alex Nickel at .442. All six of those players have at least one home run an five doubles. Allie MacFarlane (36) and Linsday Friedman (32) have more than 30 RBIs, and the team has hit 39 home runs this year. The Billikens are also formidable in the circle, led by Brianna Lore (11-7, 2.41 ERA). In addition to Lore, Laney Kneib (5-0, 3.16 ERA) and Maddie Baalman (7-5, 4.93) have seen considerable action this season.
SCOUTING THE SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REDHAWKS
SEMO is also riding a three-game winning streak heading into its game with Southern Illinois. The Redhawks took one from Tennessee State and two from Belmont over the weekend. They split a doubleheader with MVC member Missouri State before that. Kayla Fortner leads the team with a .416 average, and Lindsey Patterson (.360), Alexis Anderson (.349), Savanna Carpenter (.333), Claire Wernig (.327) and Taylor McDannold (.311) also hit better than .300. Fortner is the focus of the offense, with 36 of the team's 119 RBIs and a .922 slugging percentage. In the circle, Madeline Krumrey (6-6, 4.57) is the ace of the staff, followed by Keaira Schilling (3-7, 7.16 ERA) and Aubrey Denno (0-5, 8.58 ERA).
HARKER AND BERTELSEN HAVE ALL-MVC FIRST HALF
Nearing the halfway point of MVC play, seniors Kalyn Harker and Katie Bertelsen have put up All-MVC numbers for the Salukis. Harker is hitting .484 in MVC play, which ranks fourth in the league. She has five multi-hit games in 12 league games. She has slugged .581 and gotten on base at a .543 clip, along with stealing three bases and scoring seven runs. Bertelsen has an MVC-leading 11 wins overall and also leads the league with seven conference wins in the circle. In addition to the seniors, sophomore Merri Anne Patterson is pushing for an All-Conference nod. She's hitting .394 in league play with three doubles, four home runs, three stolen bases and a team-best 10 runs scored. Patterson's slugging percentage in league play (.848) ranks second the MVC.
HOME SWEET HOME
SIU is off to a 7-0 start at Dr. Charlotte West Stadium this year. SIU swept Bradley to open MVC play. Southern's next four home games were all tall tasks--three against defending MVC champ Wichita State and one against 27-6 SIU Edwardsville--but Southern won them all. The start is the fourth-best home start without a loss for SIU since the facility opened for the 2003 season and best since 2007.
| Hottest Home Starts Without a Loss in Dr. Charlotte West Stadium (Opened 2003) | |
| 2004 | 15-0 |
| 2006 | 11-0 |
| 2007 | 8-0 |
| 2015 | 7-0 (current) |
DEJA VU?
For a second-straight year, SIU showed great bounce-back character in a series with Illinois State. Last year, SIU lost the first two games by a combined score of 31-2 before bouncing back to win the finale 5-4. After that, Southern won nine of its next 11 Valley games, including a seven-game winning streak at one point. Last weekend, SIU dropped the first two games of the series by a combined score of 18-2 before coming from behind to take the series finale 4-2 with three runs in the final two innings.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Head coach Kerri Blaylock notched the 500th win of her career against Saint Louis in 2013...Merri Anne Patterson has three game-winning hits in the last 10 days; she hit a go-ahead home run in the opener against Wichita State, a walk-off homer in the finale against the Shockers and the go-ahead double in the seventh inning on Sunday against Illinois State...Katie Bertelsen leads the MVC in both overall wins (11) and MVC wins (7)...Shaye Harre has a hit in 10 games this season, nine of which have been multi-hit games...Sydney Jones' team-best 24 RBIs rank seventh in the MVC and second among freshmen...SIU has a +21 run differential in the sixth and seventh innings and a -88 run differential in innings 1-5...Nine of SIU's 13 wins have been come-from-behind wins, and nine times SIU has gotten the go-ahead run in its final at bat.
