Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis meet Red Wolves in Tuesday night clash
03/14/2016 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
| Southern Illinois (9-5-1, 0-0 MVC) at Arkansas State (8-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) | |
| Date | Tuesday, March 15 |
| Time | 6 p.m. |
| Location | Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field - Jonesboro, Ark. |
| Probables | RHP Bryce Sablotny (SIU) vs RHP J.D. Miller (ASU) |
| Video | Red Wolves Digital Network ($) |
| Radio | WVZA 105.1 |
| Free Audio | None |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois |
| Live Stats | |
| 2016 Season Stats | Southern Illinois |
| Social Media | @SIU_Baseball |Saluki Athletics |
DUE UP
The Salukis will load up the bus and head to Jonesboro, Ark., for a Tuesday night game at Arkansas State.
TUESDAY'S STARTER
Bryce Sablotny will make his fourth start of the season on Tuesday for the Salukis. He enters the contest holding a 1-1 record with an ERA of 8.40. He has pitched 15 innings and has recorded 9 strikeouts. In his latest outing, Sablotny pitched 5.1 innings in an 8-4 win at Belmont.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Southern heads to Arkansas State with a record of 9-5-1. SIU split a weekend series against St. John's, winning the series opener and earning a tie in the series finale. Offensively, the Salukis are hitting .269 this season. Jake Hand leads Southern with a .352 batting average. Greg Lambert and Connor Kopach are tied for the team-high with 21 hits each. The pitching staff heads to Jonesboro looking to improve on their 3.48 ERA. Anthony Shimkus and Jacob Williams lead the team with eight appearances each, while Seth Hackett and Ryan Netemeyer have played in seven games. Netemeyer leads the team with three saves.
ARKANSAS STATE SERIES NOTES
The Salukis lead the all-time series against the Red Wolves, 47-22. The two teams met in Carbondale last season, with ASU walking away with a 10-8 victory.
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
Arkansas State enters the midweek clash holding an 8-7 record. The Red Wolves are coming off a series loss to UT-Arlington. ASU batters are hitting .247 this year. Ty White leads the team in batting average (.348), hits (23), and RBI (12). The pitching staff holds an overall ERA of 3.32. Coulton Lee leads the team with nine appearances in 15 games. The team has allowed 58 runs this season.
WE GO BACK-TO-BACK
Against St. John's on Mar. 13, Greg Lambert and Hunter Anderson hit the first back-to- back home runs for the Salukis since 2012.
DOUBLE PLAY
The Saluki defense continues to make plays when needed, as the team has turned 19 double-plays this season to lead the MVC. Offensively, SIU has only hit into three double-plays.
FIGURING OUT HACKETT
Freshman LHP Seth Hackett has been a go-to option out of the bullpen for the Salukis this season. Hackett has appeared in seven games, pitching 7.2 innings. He has limited opponents to one run on five hits, while striking out nine.
FREE TO STEAL
The Salukis continue to steal bases well, tallying 22 so far this season. Connor Kopach and Dyllin Mucha are tied for the team-high with four stolen bases each.
.300 HITTERS
The Salukis currently have four players who are hitting at least .300 this season. Logan Blackfan, Jake Hand, Connor Kopach, and Greg Lambert are all hitting above .300 and each player has at least seven RBIs and 18 hits. Southern did not have a hitter finish hitting .300 last year.
NETEMEYER FOR THE SAVE
Sophomore RHP Ryan Netemeyer has been very strong as the closer for the Salukis. Netemeyer has three saves this season in seven appearances. He has allowed just one run in 11.1 innings of work.
HOT HAND
Jake Hand currently owns a 10 game hitting streak this season. He extended his streak with an 11th inning single against St. John's on Sunday, Mar.13. The longest hitting streak by a Saluki was 12 games by Greg Lambert.
