SIU at SIUE: Notes & Links

03/29/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball

March 29, 2016

SIU (20-8) at SIUE (9-16)
Date and Time	March 30, 2016 \| 4 p.m. CT
Location	Edwardsville, Ill. \| Cougar Field (500) \| Weather
Follow Along	Live Stats \| Free Video Stream (OVC Digital Network)
2016 Stats	Southern Illinois \| SIUE \| MVC \| OVC
Social Media	@SIU_Softball \| @SIU_Softball \| Saluki Softball

FAST FIVE

SIU has won eight games in a row, which is the sixth-longest active streak in Division I softball. SIU is 12-1 in its last 13 games.
In the last 13 games, SIU pitching has an 0.89 ERA. All three SIU pitchers have ERAs uner 1.00. Savanna Dover's is 0.75; Nicole Doyle's is 0.91; and Brianna Jones' is 0.95.
In that same 13-game span, the offense is hitting .292 with 22 doubles and 16 home runs. Southern is outscoring opponents 62-12 in the last 13 games.
Southern Illinois is 12 games over .500 for the first time since 2012. That 2012 team reached 20 games over .500.
SIU's season fielding percentage ranks 16th nationally.

FOR STARTERS
Saluki Softball hits the road for a mid-week game against SIU Edwardsville at 4 p.m. SIU is 2-0 in mid-week games this season after scratching out a walk-off 3-2 win over SEMO last Tuesday at Charlotte West Stadium. The game is SIU's second road mid-week of the year, having beaten Saint Louis 14-2 to open mid-week play.

Southern Illinois...

is 20-8 and has won 12 of its last 13 games. In that 13-game stretch, SIU is outscoring its opponents 62-12
has an 0.89 team ERA in the last 13 games.
has won eight-straight games, a season-long winning streak and the sixth-longest active win streak in the country.
is 12 games over .500 for the first time since 2012. That 2012 reached 20 games over .500 at one point in the season (31-11).
pitched 11 shutouts this season. SIU already has the most shutouts since 2011 (13), and all three pitchers have already thrown at least one shutout.
has only allowed only six home run in 181.2 innings pitched. SIU allowed 53 home runs last year (about one every six innings).
is out-homering opponents 28-6 this season. SIU has 72 extra-base hits, compared to just 32 for opponents.
leads the MVC in home runs per game with 28 home runs in 28 games.
went 10-5 at Charlotte West Stadium in 2015, the 34th consecutive season SIU had a winning record at home. SIU is 8-2 this season at home.
hosts the 2016 MVC Championships at Charlotte West Stadium.
is 197-71 (.735) at home in its 14th seasons at Charlotte West Stadium.

Brianna Jones NAMED MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman pitcher Brianna Jones was named MVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Jones threw 16.2 scoreless innings last week, gathering three wins and a save in Southern's 4-0 week. She threw two shutouts against Illinois State, raising her season total to an NCAA-best eight shutouts this season. She also picked up season wins Nos. 13, 14 and 15, which leads all freshmen nationally and ranks fifth nationally overall. Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week three times this season and MVC Newcomer of the Week twice more.

HARRE DOMINATING OFFENSIVELY
Junior first baseman Shaye Harre has been dominant in the middle of the order. Her .882 slugging percentage this season ranks 14th nationally. She had 10 home runs in her first two seasons combined, and she already has nine this year. She also has eight doubles and 30 RBIs. Her RBI total already matches her team-leading total from last season and gives her 103 RBIs in her 128-game career (all starts). She earned MVC Player of the Week two weeks ago and is hitting .486 over the last 13 games. Her season on-base percentage is .532 thanks to 18 walks. She ranks in the top-five of the MVC in every offensive category, leading the league in home runs and slugging percentage.

HEESE STEPPING UP
Sophomore outfielder Jessica Heese is in her first season as a starting outfielder for the Salukis, and she has quickly made per presence felt. Her .317 average ranks second on the team, and she also has seven doubles and two triples to give her a .650 slugging percentage. In the last 13 games, Heese is hitting .387 with six doubles and three home runs (.935 slugging percentage).

GONZALEZ, PATTERSON GETTING HOT
Kelsey Gonzalez and Merri Anne Patterson have sparked the offense in the last 13 games. Gonzalez is hitting .368 and Patterson is at .323. Patterson is slugging .710, while Gonzalez has scored 10 runs, which trails only Harre in that stretch. For the season, Gonzalez is hitting .313 and holds a .424 on-base percentage, which also trails only Harre on the team. Patterson joins Heese with a four-game hit-streak entering the game against SIUE, which leads the team.

WHO DO YOU PITCH TO?
SIU has been hitting at every spot in the order. In the last 13 games alone, five players have recorded a hitting streak of at least four games. Eight players have at least one multi-hit game, and six players have at least one multi-RBI game. On the season, five players have at least three home runs and seven players have at least two. Every hitter on the roster has an RBI, and nine players have at least seven RBIs this season.

DOVER ON A ROLL
Sophomore pitcher Savanna Dover has been outstanding over her last four starts. In the 13-game stretch in which SIU is 12-1, Dover has allowed only three earned runs in 28.0 innings. She threw a shutout against Loyola and hasn't given up more than one run in any start.