Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU at Lion Classic: Game Notes & Links
02/11/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (0-0, 0-0 MVC) at Lion Classic | |
| Dates | Feb. 12-14, 2016 |
| Location | Hammond, La. | North Oak Park (500) |
| Game 1 | vs. UT Martin | Feb. 12 | 11 a.m. CT | Field Two | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | vs. Nicholls State | Feb. 12 | 1 p.m. CT | Field Two | Live Stats |
| Game 3 | vs. Mississippi Valley State | Feb. 13 | Noon CT | Field One | Live Stats | Video ($) |
| Game 4 | at Southeastern Louisiana | Feb. 13 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Field One | Live Stats | Video ($) |
| Game 5 | vs. Buffalo | Feb. 14 | 10 a.m. CT | Field Two | Live Stats |
| Previews | SIU Season Preview | SIU Game Notes (PDF) | UT Martin | Nicholls State | MSVU | SELA | Buffalo |
| 2015 Stats | Southern Illinois | UT Martin | Nicholls State | MSVU | SELA | Buffalo |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
FOR STARTERS
Southern Illinois opens the 2016 season at the Lion Classic in Hammond, La. The Salukis play five games in three days at the tournament, opening with UT Martin and Nicholls State on Friday. Southern plays Mississippi Valley State and host Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday before closing the tournament against Buffalo on Sunday morning.
Southern Illinois...
- was 21-26-1 in 2015. The 2016 team returns 10 letterwinners and six starters. Five newcomers (all freshmen) join the team, including two pitchers.
- has won six of its last eight season openers.
- finished fifth in the MVC in 2015. The Salukis have finished in the top half of the conference in all of Kerri Blaylock's 16 seasons as head coach.
- showed a knack for comebacks last season. SIU took the lead in its last at-bat in eight of its 15 MVC wins, and the Salukis overcame deficits of at least four runs five times last season.
- is four wins away from 1,200 in program history. SIU is 1,196-740-4 since the program started in 1968.
- went 10-5 at Charlotte West Stadium in 2015, the 34th consecutive season SIU had a winning record at home.
- hosts the 2016 MVC Championships at Charlotte West Stadium.
- is 189-69 (.733) at home in 13 seasons at Charlotte West Stadium.
WHAT'S RETURNING AND WHAT WAS LOST
Southern Illinois lost its No. 1 pitcher (Katie Bertelsen) and No. 1 hitter (Kalyn Harker) to graduation from last year's team, but the Salukis return their next five-best hitters by average after Harker. Juniors Merri Anne Patterson and Shaye Harre have earned All-MVC honors and will bolster the middle of the lineup. Patterson led the Salukis in home runs last year with seven, and Harre led the team in RBIs (30).
Shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez has hit .306 over the past two seasons and has 146 career starts in the middle infield. Sophomore Sydney Jones started all 48 games last year as a true freshman and led the team in RBIs for most of the season, and Savannah Fisher started 41 games last year at second base. Jessa Thomas started 21 games at catcher last year and sparked a pair of the team's comeback wins. Pitcher Savanna Dover is back for her sophomore season after limiting MVC hitters to only three extra base hits in 27.2 innings as a true freshman in 2015.
WHAT'S NEW
The Salukis have five true freshmen, all of whom have potential to see the field right away. Pitchers Brianna Jones and Nicole Doyle round out the pitching staff. Jones pitched in the fall and had an ERA under 2.00. Hitters Eyrika Brandenburg, Hanna Porter and Hanna Stam all join the lineup. Brandenburg and Porter both play in the outfield, while Stam is on the infield.
PATTERSON AND HARRE: PAIR OF POWERFUL JUNIORS
Merri Anne Patterson is coming off an All-MVC season in 2015. Patterson earned All-MVC, MVC All-Defensive Team, MVC Player of the Week (3/23), MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week (3/25) and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors a year ago. Now a junior, Patterson moves over to center field, taking over a long line of stellar SIU center fielders that includes 2012 MVC Player of the Year Mallory Duran-Sellers and 2015 MVC batting champ Kalyn Harker. Patterson has three career game-winning home runs and ranked in the top-10 in the MVC last year in batting average, slugging percentage, total bases, doubles per game and home runs per game. She was outstanding in every aspect last season, hitting .321 with 10 doubles and seven home runs while also being a perfect 7-for-7 stealing bases.
Shaye Harre has started all 100 games in her two-year Saluki career and has already made her markk on the program. Harre has 73 RBIs in her first two seasons, putting her on pace to crack the top-10 in MVC history in that category. She was named All-MVC as a freshman in 2014. She has a .309 career batting average and a .427 career on-base percentage. In addition to hitting, Harre has made an impact pitching, appearing in 38 games over the past two seasons as a pitcher. She beat a ranked UCF team from the circle as a true freshman in 2014 and won a pair of conference games as a pitcher last year for SIU.
DOVER SAVES BEST FOR LAST
Sophomore pitcher Savanna Dover posted a 5.09 ERA as a freshman and pitched her best down the stretch. In her final seven appearances, Dover never allowed more than two earned runs. Against MVC teams, she help opponents to a .228 batting average and allowed only three extra base hits in 27.2 innings. In her final seven appearances, she lowered her season ERA by a full run, and she kept that momentum going into the fall season, when she was dominant at times for SIU.
COMEBACK KIDS
Southern Illinois came from behind in 11 of its 21 wins last year and won 11 games in its last at bat. SIU overcame five 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.
- SIU trailed Evansville 1-0 in the fourth inning before putting up a three-run fourth. After Evansville tied the game, Jessa Thomas hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to give SIU a 4-3 win.
- Southern fell behind Indiana State 6-0 in the fourth inning in game two in Terre Haute before scoring seven unanswered runs to win 7-6 in eight innings. Jessa Thomas had two doubles and four RBIs in the comeback win, and Meredith Wilson's eighth-inning single scored Kalyn Harker for the game-winning run.
JONES: ONE OF TOP FROSH IN MVC
True freshman Sydney Jones ended her freshman campaign as one of the top freshmen in the MVC. Starting with the third game of her collegiate career, Jones embarked on a 16-game reached base streak, which was the second-best on the team in 2015. She tied for the team lead with seven home runs and was second on the team with 28 RBIs, 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. Behind the plate, she threw out nine would-be base stealers, which ranked third in the league overall, and she picked off two Evansville base runners.
GONZALEZ SPARKS OFFENSE FROM LEADOFF
Head coach Kerri Blaylock mixed up the lineup last year 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. Gonzalez hit .304 in the leadoff spot and reached in 27 of 33 games as the leadoff hitter. She reached base in 18 consecutive games to close the 2015 season.
Gonzalez hit just .210 as a true freshman in 2013, but she has been among the best hitting shortstops in the MVC over the past two seasons, hitting .306 and piling up 53 runs, 87 hits, 14 doubles and seven home runs. She has started 146 of a possible 151 games in her career while maintaining a 3.96 GPA.
SALUKI SOFTBALL: THE NATION'S MOST WELL-ROUNDED PROGRAM
The Salukis are among the most well-balanced programs in the nation. Under head coach Kerri Blaylock (16 seasons), the Salukis have finished among the top-20 program-wide GPAs 15 times, including eight top-five finishes. This past year (2014-15), the Salukis had a 3.62 team GPA, the fourth-best in all of Division I softball. Under Blaylock, Southern Illinois has won 562 games, three MVC championships and gone to five NCAA Tournaments while finishing with a team GPA among the top-10 in the nation 11 times. SIU's WORST program-wide GPA in Blaylock's 16 seasons is a 3.37 GPA, which was still good for 31st-best GPA of 335 Division I softball teams
The Salukis have had at least two student-athletes earn first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete team honors for 18 consecutive seasons, and Saluki Softball has the second-most Academic All-Americans of any Division I softball program. Last season, Kalyn Harker became the latest Saluki Softballer to earn first-team Academic All-America honors, and Shaye Harre earned first-team Academic All-District along with Harker, who went on to be a finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Starting in 2004-05, the NCAA started recognizing programs for being among the top 10 percent of their sport for Academic Progress Rate. Southern Illinois and Loyola are the only two MVC schools to earn the honor even once, and the Salukis have earned it seven of the 10 years it has been awarded.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Salukis went 10-5 at Charlotte West Stadium in 2015, the program's 34th-consecutive winning season in home games. 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 189-69 in 13 seasons at Charlotte West Stadium, which includes a 12-7 mark last season.
FOLLOW THE DAWGS
Fans can keep up-to-date on all the latest Saluki Softball information by following the program on its official social media accounts.
- Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball
- Twitter.com/SIU_Softball
- Instagram.com/SIU_Softball
Schedules, scores, press releases and statistics are available on SIUSalukis.com.
| Lineup Quick Notes | ||
| 00 | Sydney Jones | 28 RBIs (2nd on team)...Reached in 36 of 48G as frosh...Started all 48 games...2 game-winning HRs in 2015 |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...MVC All-Tournament Team (2014)...Hit .321 last year and career .313 hitter |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | Started 41G in 2015 as frosh...8 of 17 hits in 2015 went for extra bases...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015) |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | CAREER: 146 starts, 116 hits, 18 doubles, 8 HRs, .365 OB%...Hit .306 over last 2 seasons (94 starts)...Team captain |
| 9 | Hanna Stam | True freshman...Four-time All-Conference, two-time All-State in high school...142 hits, 143 runs and 92 RBIs in HS career |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | CAREER: 69 games, 34 starts, 16 hits, 3 doubles, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs...Used primarily as designated player |
| 15 | Nicole Doyle | True freshman, 3-time All-Conference, 2-time conference MVP, 28 career Ws and ERA under 1.00...6 career no-hitters in HS |
| 17 | Eyrika Brandenburg | True freshman...Wendy's High School Heisman winner in 2014...Broke 17 school records...Hit .550 in 114 career HS games |
| 20 | Hanna Porter | True freshman...Four-time All-Conference, three-time All-District in HS...24 career home runs, 35 career stolen bases |
| 22 | Brianna Jones | True freshman...Three-time All-District, three-time Pitcher of the Year...Ranked third in nation in strikeouts with 372 in 2014 |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | Played in 28 games and started nine as true freshman in 2015...Three hits, 2-2 stolen bases in 2015 as freshman |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | Started all 100 games in career...First-team Academic All-District (2015)...Career: .309 batting average, 73 RBIs...Team captain |
| 28 | Taylor Harris | CAREER: 73 games, 27 starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 8 RBIs...Stole first career base in 2015...Started 11G in 2015 |
| 32 | Jessa Thomas | Played in 24G and started 21 at C in 2015...Went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs in 6-run comeback at Indiana State...Team captain. |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | Played in 20G and started 8 as true freshman in 2015...Allowed only 3 extra base hits in 27.2 IP in MVC play |
| Team | Four wins away from 1,200 in program history...21-26-1 last year...Had 11 comeback wins last year | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | Won 562 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances |
