Salukis host fall doubleheader on Sunday
09/18/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois softball program will play a doubleheader on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 12 and 2 p.m. CT in Charlotte West Stadium. SIU faces Lake Land at Noon and Saint Louis afterwards. The opportunity is the second of three home weekends for the Salukis this fall. SIU will also face SIU Edwardsville and John A. Logan in Charlotte West Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3.
SIU returns five of its top six hitters from the 2015 squad. Merri Anne Patterson earned All-MVC honors in 2015 after hitting .321 during her sophomore season. She also earned MVC Player of the Week, MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week and a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team in 2015. Shaye Harre will also returns after starting all 100 games over the past two seasons. Harre led the team with 30 RBIs in 2015. Kelsey Gonzalez begins her senior season in 2015-16 after being a team captain in 2015 and hitting .303 over the last two seasons.
The 2016 season will be head coach Kerri Blaylock's 17th year leading the program. She has won 562 games overall and 260 MVC games in her tenure, both the top-seven in MVC history. She is the only coach in MVC history to lead a program to five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Associate head coach Jen Sewell begins her eighth season on staff, and former Saluki three-sport star Katie Wagner begins her first season as an assistant coach.
