2016 season preview

02/05/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball

Feb. 5, 2016

The Saluki Softball team is ready to start the 2016 season with an infusion of young pitching talent and a returning core of hitters. Head coach Kerri Blaylock enters her 17th season as the head coach of the Salukis, and the program is looking for its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in her tenure.

"We're going one game at a time this year," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "We have the ability to take it one moment at a time, one game at a time. We're trying to get better every day, and we're trying to grow towards our conference season. We have good enough pitching to keep us in every single game we play, and it's fun to watch the hitters start to mature. It's a great team to work with. They're small on numbers, but they're mighty. We've been going hard in practice to prepare, and I feel really good about this team."

SIU is coming off a 21-26-1 season, but the Salukis finished 15-11 in MVC play. SIU has finished in the top half of the MVC in all 16 of Blaylock's seasons as head coach. This year's squad was picked sixth in the preseason poll but returns four of its top five hitters from last year's team. Kelsey Gonzalez, Shaye Harre and Jessa Thomas are the captains for the 2016 team, and seniors Gonzalez, Caylee Cook and Taylor Harris are looking for a memorable senior season.

Pitching
SIU's pitching staff will be led by a trio of underclassmen, including two freshmen. Sophomore Savanna Dover returns after throwing 65 innings last season, and she led the 2015 team by holding opponents to just a .259 batting average. Dover allowed just three extra-base hits to MVC foes last season and limited conference batters to a .222 batting average, and she is throwing harder and with more control this season.

Dover will be joined by a pair of freshmen pitchers. Nicole Doyle and Brianna Jones are both expected to be big contributors as true freshmen in 2016. Doyle did not pitch in the fall season, but Jones was dominant at times, posting a sub-2.00 ERA. Jones and Dover combined to strike out 56 batters in 54 innings in the fall while allowing just 18 earned runs. In addition, Shaye Harre has pitched 95 innings in her first two seasons and is also ready to throw.

"We're young and exciting," Blaylock said. "No one knows us. Dover had innings, but she wasn't the Dover that she is right now. Brianna and Nicole are very exciting. They're young; they're talented; and they're a lot of fun to work with."

Infield
Southern's most experienced unit is the infield, which returns nearly all of its production from a year ago. Shaye Harre, Savannah Fisher, Sydney Jones and Kelsey Gonzalez combined to start 184 games last season, and they produced a combined 22 doubles, 17 home runs and 79 RBIs. Harre and Jones were the top-two RBI producers on the team last season and were the only two players to start all 48 games.

Jessa Thomas has started 29 games at catcher in her two seasons in Carbondale, including 21 starts a year ago. She came on strong at the plate at the end of the year, raising her batting average 75 points over the final three weeks of the season. Rookie walk-on Hanna Stam showed potential both offensively and defensively in the fall, and she could see time at third base. Seniors Taylor Harris and Caylee Cook both have power potential at the plate. Harris has also seen time as a defensive specialist at first base, while Cook has 34 career starts as a DP.

"We're veteran, and you can tell we're veteran," Blaylock said. "You can tell how comfortable they are. All of the kids have experience, with one freshman added into the mix, Hanna Stam. For the whole group, they have great communication skills; and they're very confident. Gonzo is our leader, and Shaye at first anchors us. We're very secure, very good where we're at. I really like how they're taking the role of being the fixure of our team."

Outfield
SIU's entire outfield earned All-Conference honors last season, but Merri Anne Patterson is the only outfielder returning for the 2016 season. SIU has traditionally had a center fielder among the best in the MVC, from 2012 Player of the Year Mallory Duran-Sellers and last year's MVC batting champ Kalyn Harker. Patterson looks poised to take over that position after Harker's graduation. Patterson earned spots on the All-MVC team and the conference's inaugural All-Defensive team last season. She hit .380 in conference play and ranked in the top-10 in the MVC in nearly every offensive category.

The corner spots in the outfield will be decided by battles among a trio of talented young Salukis. Sophomore Jessica Heese started seven games last season when All-MVC outfielder Meredith Wilson was out with an injury, and she reached in four of the seven games. True freshmen Eyrika Brandenburg and Hanna Porter will both also have opportunities to start right away. Porter has a right-handed power bat, while Brandenburg hits for an outstanding average and gives SIU a left-handed bat in the lineup. "Merri Anne is the only one with significant playing time, but it's an exciting group," Blaylock said. "All four will play; there's no doubt. It's a good group, with Merri Anne leading the charge."

Schedule
SIU's schedule starts with a challenging non-conference slate that includes games against Hofstra, Kansas and Pittsburgh, all of whom played in the NCAA Tournament last season.

"We wanted to play in quality tournaments against quality opponents," Blaylock said. "We wanted a schedule that will allow us to grow before the conference schedule, and we accomplished that."

The Salukis host Kansas in the first home weekend of the season, March 5-6 for the Coach B Classic. That tournament starts an exciting home slate that concludes when SIU hosts the MVC Tournament for the fourth time since Dr. Charlotte West Stadium opened in 2003. SIU has also hosted the conference tournament in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

"We believe Dr. Charlotte West Stadium is one of the best in the conference, and we love showcasing it," head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "For the kids, it's a great opportunity to focus on academics during finals week and softball right afterwards, and we get to play for our great community and feel their support."

Southern Illinois is 189-69 in 12 seasons at Charlotte West Stadium and has posted a winning record at home for 34 consecutive seasons. The Salukis host conference series against Loyola, Indiana State, Illinois State and Northern Iowa before postseason play.