Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Coach B Classic: Notes & Links
03/04/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (7-5, 0-0 MVC) hosts Coach B Classic | |
| Dates | March 5-6, 2016 |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium | Weather |
| Teams | Southern Illinois (7-5) | Kansas (7-8) | Eastern Illinois (4-11) | Butler (6-7) |
| Game 1 | EIU vs. Kansas | March 5 | 10:30 a.m. CT | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | SIU vs. EIU | March 5 | 12:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Free Video Stream |
| Game 3 | Kansas vs. Butler | March 5 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats |
| Game 4 | Butler vs. SIU | March 5 | 4:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Free Video Stream |
| Game 5 | Butler vs. EIU | March 6 | 10:30 a.m. CT | Live Stats |
| Game 6 | EIU vs. Kansas | March 6 | 12:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats |
| Game 7 | Kansas vs. SIU | March 6 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Free Video Stream |
| Game 8 | SIU vs. Butler | March 6 | 4:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Free Video Stream |
| Game Notes | SIU Game Notes (PDF) | Kansas (PDF) | Eastern Illinois |
| 2016 Stats | Southern Illinois | Kansas | Butler | Eastern Illinois |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
FOR STARTERS
Saluki Softball hosts the Coach B Classic on March 5-6 at Dr. Charlotte West Stadium. Kansas, Eastern Illinois and Butler all come to Carbondale for the tournament. SIU will host four game each day, starting at 10:30 a.m., and all four teams will play two games each day. SIU will play at home for the first time all season. Saluki Softball has posted a winning record at home for 34 consecutive years, including last year's 10-5 mark. West Stadium opened in 2003, and the Salukis are 189-69 in the 13 seasons since.
Southern has not hosted a complete weekend of the Coach B Classic since 2012. The tournament was cut down to one day in 2013, moved to Chattanooga in 2014 and canceled last season. The tournament is named for former head coach Kay Brechtelsbauer, who won 633 games at Southern Illinois from 1968-99. In 48 seasons of Saluki Softball, Brechtelsbauer and current head coach Kerri Blaylock are the only coaches in program history.
Southern Illinois...
- is 7-5 after twhree weekends. SIU went 3-2 on opening weekend (Lion Classic), 2-1 the next weekend (FGCU Invitational) and 2-2 last weekend (Stetson Invitational)
- pitched six shutouts this season. SIU already has the most shutouts since 2011 (13), and the season is only 12 games old.
- has only allowed only one home run in 74.2 innings pitched. SIU allowed 53 home runs last year (about one every six innings).
- has 22 extra-base hits in eight games. SIU opponents have just 10.
- is 7-2 against teams on a neutral field and 0-3 against tournament hosts.
- has won nine of its last 10 games at the Coach B Classic, dating back to 2011.
- 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.
Brianna Jones LEADS THE NATION IN SHUTOUTS
True freshman pitcher Brianna Jones started her career with a bang, throwing complete-game shutouts in each of her first three starts. Jones leads the nation in shutouts with five, and no one else in the country has more than three. She opened her career with a 3-0 shutout win over regional rival UT Martin, then followed it up with another shutout the next day vs. Mississippi Valley State. After the two shutouts at the Lion Classic, Jones earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors in her first week eligible for the award. A week later, Jones threw another one, this time a 9-0 win over LIU Brooklyn. In total, Jones didn't allow an earned run in the first 22.2 innings of her career. Jones again threw back-to-back shutouts at the Stetson Invitational and earned MVC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week honors.
Jones had one bad start this year, allowing six earned runs in two innings against Florida Gulf Coast. Outside of that one start, Jones has an 0.19 ERA in 37.0 innings, with five shutouts in eight appearances. Jones five shutouts nearly matches the other nine MVC schools combined (7 shutouts).
Shaye Harre: MIDDLE OF THE ORDER MONSTER
Southern Illinois junior first baseman Shaye Harre is one of the best hitters in the MVC. She has started all 112 games in her career and hit in the middle of the order since her first game of freshman year. Not even halfway through her junior season, Harre has collected 102 hits (.319 career hitter), 20 doubles, 13 home runs and 84 RBIs.
In just 12 games this season, Harre already has 13 hits, including two doubles, and three home runs, and she has scored 10 runs while gathering 11 RBIs. Her on-base percentage is .524 and her slugging percentage is .750. Four of her 12 games this year have been multi-hit games, and thre have been multi-RBI games. She pushed her season batting average over .400 after hitting .500 last weekend at the Stetson Invitational.
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.
NEWCOMERS STEPPING UP BIG
Southern Illinois has five freshmen in 2016, four of which have been eligible to play (Nicole Doyle is recovering from an injury and potentially could return this weekend.). All four made a big immediate impact. Pitcher Brianna Jones opened her career with five shutouts in her first six starts and earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors twice in the first three weeks of the season. Eyrika Brandenburg started all 12 games in left field and is hitting .342. Her first hit was an RBI single that scored SIU's first run of the season. Fellow freshmen Hanna Porter and Hanna Stam both recorded hits in their first career at-bats. Porter was dominant at the plate in her first collegiate weekend, reaching in 6-of-8 trips to the plate, including a three-run home run. The four of them have a combined 31 starts this season.
SALUKI PITCHING FUELS SUCCESS
From 1987-2007, Southern Illinois had a team ERA under 3.00 all 21 seasons. On the opening weekend of the season, the 2016 pitchers were just as dominant. Freshman Brianna Jones and sophomore Savanna Dover combined to post an 0.90 ERA in 31.0 innings, allowing only four earned runs in five games. Jones pitched two complete-game shutouts, and Dover pitched one. Opponents hit only .183 off the pair (only .175 off Dover), and each of them struck out 16 batters. They only allowed two total extra-base hits (both doubles) in 109 official at-bats. SIU already has the most shutouts this year (6) since 2011 (13). The team ERA is 2.62, which would be the lowest team ERA since the team won the MVC title in 2010, and Brianna Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors twice after throwing a nation-leading five shutouts through three weeks.
HITTING UP AND DOWN THE LINEUP
SIU has 12 hitters on the roster, and 11 recorded already have at least one hit, while all 12 have at least one RBI. All three freshmen have already recorded their first career hits. Five players have batting averages over .300 this season, including four that are hitting better than .333. Four players already have 10 hits or more, and eight of at least one double. In the middle of the order, Shaye Harre (.524) and Sydney Jones (.512) have on-base percentages over .500. On the ends of the lineup, Jessa Thomas is reaching at a .455 clip; freshman Eyrika Brandenburg is hitting .342 from leadoff; Jessica Heese has already doubled her hit total from last year; Caylee Cook has produced five two-out RBIs and is on pace for her best season in a Saluki uniform. Eight players are reaching base at least 35 percent of the time.
GONZALEZ SPARKS OFFENSE
Kelsey Gonzalez enters his fourth year as a starter at shortstop for the Saluki Softball team. In addition to being one of the best defensive shortstops in the MVC over that span, she also has been a pivotal bat in the lineup.
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 .303 and piling up 62 runs, 95 hits, 15 doubles and seven home runs. She has started 158 of a possible 163 games in her career while maintaining a 3.96 GPA.
MERRI ANNE PATTERSON BREAKS OUT
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.
Patterson started slowly this season just 2-for-20. But she broke out in a big way recently, hitting in four of the last five games to double her average. In her last five games, Patterson has five hits, a double, home run, three RBIs, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
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 played five extra-inning games. SIU already has one come-from-behind win in 2016, beating Marshall 8-6 after an early 2-0 deficit. The Salukis nearly overcame a five-run deficit against Florida Gulf Coast, stranding the tying run on third in the bottom of the seventh.
Sydney Jones: BUILDING ON OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN SEASON
Sydney Jones ended her freshman campaign as on of the top freshmen in the MVC. 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. In 2016, Jones is hitting .333 with a double, home run and five RBIs. She is slugging .467 and reaching base at a .512 clip. She leads the team in both hits (13) and walks drawn (9).
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.
JONES EARNS MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK TWICE
True freshman pitcher Brianna Jones earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors twice this season. After throwing two complete-game shutouts and not allowing a single earned run on opening weekend, Jones earned the honor in her first week eligible for the award. Jones threw complete-game shutouts against UT Martin and Mississippi Valley State, joining former Saluki greats Amy Harre and Cassidy Scoggins among SIU pitchers who have started their careers with complete-game shutouts. Jones (2-1, 0.00 ERA in the week) struck out 16 batters in 14 innings and held opponents to a .192 batting average. She threw two more complete-game shutouts two weekends later at the Stetson Invitational, securing a 10-0 win over Providence and a 4-0 win over Colgate.
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 | 2016: 10-30 (.333), .512 OB%...AS FROSH (2015): 28 RBIs (2nd on team)...Started all 60 career games...2 game-winning HRs |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...MVC All-Tournament Team (2014)...Last 5G: 5H, 3R, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | 2 sac flies in `16...3-run HR vs. FGCU...Perfect fielding % this yr, most assists on team (22)...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015) |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | CAREER: 158 starts, 126 hits, 19 doubles, 8 HRs, .368 OB%...Hit .303 over last 2+ seasons (106 starts)...Team captain |
| 9 | Hanna Stam | True freshman...Recorded hit in first collegiate at-bat...Hitting 5-for-20 with 3 RBIs...OB% is .358...7 starts |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | CAREER: 79 games, 43 starts, 22 hits, 5 doubles, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs...All 5 RBIs in 2016 are 2-out RBIs |
| 15 | Nicole Doyle | True freshman...Has not played (injury)...HS: 2-time conference MVP, 28 career Ws, ERA under 1.00 & 6 career no-hitters |
| 17 | Eyrika Brandenburg | True freshman...Started all 12G in left field...First hit was SIU's first RBI of the season...Hitting .342...2 triples |
| 20 | Hanna Porter | True freshman...Hitting .357...Hit 3-run homer vs. Buffalo...Singled in first career at-bat...Two home runs |
| 22 | Brianna Jones | True freshman...National leader w/ 5 shutouts...2-time MVC Pitcher of the Week (2/15 & 2/29)...1.26 ERA (2nd in MVC) |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | .304 batting average...Hit first 3B & first RBIs on opening weekend...Already twice as many hits as last year |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | Started all 112 games in career...First-team Academic All-District (2015)...Career: .319 batting average, 84 RBIs...Team captain |
| 28 | Taylor Harris | CAREER: 82 games, 28 starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 9 RBIs...Stole first career base in 2015...Started 11G in 2015 |
| 32 | Jessa Thomas | CAREER: 39 games, 34 starts at catcher...OB% is .455 in 2016...2-for-8, RBI in `16...6 RBIs last year...Team captain |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | CG SHO vs. Buffalo...4.12 ERA, 31 K's in 35.2 IP in 2016...Allowed only 13 extra base hits in 100.1 career innings |
| Team | 6 shutouts in 2016 (most since 2011)...Pitching striking out 6/game this year (3/game last year)...1 HR allowed in 73.2 IP | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | 17th Season...Won 569 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances |
