SIU at Drake: Game Notes & Links

04/01/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball

April 1, 2016

SIU (20-8, 5-0 MVC) at Drake (16-11, 6-0 MVC)
Dates	April 2-3, 2016
Location	Des Moines, Iowa \| Weather
Game 1	April 2 \| 2 p.m. CT \| Live Stats \| Free Video Stream \| SIU Audio
Game 2	April 3 \| 11 a.m. CT \| Live Stats \| Free Video Stream \| SIU Audio
Game 3	April 3 \| 1 p.m. CT \| Live Stats \| Free Video Stream \| SIU Audio
Game Notes	SIU Game Notes (PDF)
2016 Stats	Southern Illinois \| Drake \| MVC
Social Media	@SIU_Softball \| @SIU_Softball \| Saluki Softball

FAST FIVE

SIU and Drake are the only two undefeated teams after two weekends of MVC play. Drake is 6-0; SIU is 5-0.
SIU has won eight-straight games, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
Brianna Jones leads the nation in shutouts with eight. She ranks seventh nationally with 15 victories.
Shaye Harre ranks 14th nationally in slugging percentage at .882. She leads the MVC in both home runs and slugging percentage.
SIU is 12-1 in its last 13 games. It has an 0.89 ERA in that span, and all three pitcher have ERAs under 1.00 in that span, led by Savanna Dover's 0.75 ERA in 28.0 innings.

FOR STARTERS
Saluki Softball hits the road for a showdown with Drake on Saturday and Sunday. The Salukis (5-0) and Bulldogs (6-0) are the only two undefeated teams in the MVC after two weekends. They will play a single game at 2 p.m. on Saturday before an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Sunday. SIU swept a doubleheader from Loyola (the Sunday game was rained out) and a three-game series from Illinois State. Drake has swept Evansville and Indiana State. Drake swept SIU last year en route to the MVC regular season title.

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.
is on an eight-game winning streak, tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
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.

B. JONES NAMED MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK FOR THIRD TIME IN 2016
Freshman pitcher Brianna Jones was named MVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, the third time she has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week this season. She has also been named MVC Newcomer of the Week twice. Last week, Jones pitched 16.2 scoreless innings, including back-to-back shutouts against Illinois State's potent lineup.

B. JONES AMONG NATION'S BEST
True freshman pitcher Brianna Jones leads the nation in shutouts with eight. She opened her career with three-straight shutouts and didn't allow an earned run in the first 22.2 innings of her career. She has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week three and MVC Newcomer of the Week twice more. Her 15 wins this year rank seventh nationally and second among freshmen. She leads the MVC in both wins and ERA (1.41).

Jones has allowed six runs twice this season. Outside of those two starts, Jones has an 0.62 ERA in 90.1 innings, with eight shutouts and 12 complete games in 20 appearances.

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 128 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 121 hits (.332 career hitter), 26 doubles, 19 home runs and 103 RBIs.

This season, Harre is hitting .421 with eight doubles, nine home runs and a team-high 30 RBIs. Harre led the team in RBIs in each of her first two seasons as a Saluki and is on pace to do it again. She is slugging .882 in 2016 and reaching at a .536 clip.

Harre's statistics from the last 13 games illustrate her dominance: 17-for-35 (.486), five doubles, six home runs, 18 RBIs, 13 runs scored, 1.143 slg%, and a .600 on-base percentage.

GONZALEZ PLAYING GREAT IN FOURTH SEASON AS STARTER
SIU shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez is in her fourth season as the starting shortstop for SIU; she has started 174 of a possible 179 games. During SIU's last 13 games, she is hitting .368 with 10 runs scored and a .467 on-base percentage. Over the past three seasons (122 starts), she has hit .308 (113-for-367) with 74 runs scored, 16 doubles, eight home runs and 41 RBIs. She has done all this while playing outstanding defense and maintaining a 3.96 GPA.

HEESE PROTECTING HARRE
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).

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 is slugging .710 over the last 13 games, with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs. Her nine RBIs are second on the team in that span, and her 4-for-4 mark stealing bases is also a team best. She has scored nine runs. For the season, Patterson's 17 RBIs and five home runs both are second on the team.

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 weekend, which leads the team.

Caylee Cook IN MIDST OF BREAKOUT SENIOR SEASON
SIU senior Caylee Cook has become a middle of the order force for the Salukis in her senior season. Cook is hitting .254 in 20 starts this year and already has career highs in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs. Her slugging percentage is approaching .424 and she has stolen two bases, as well. Her RBI total this year (10) matches her total from the first three seasons of her career combined. She has come through in big situations, hitting a bases-clearing double in an 8-6 win over Marshall and a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning of a 4-1 win over Butler.

Sydney Jones: BUILDING ON OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN SEASON
Sydney Jones is hitting .293, and her batting average didn't dip below .300 until the 28th game of the season. She has reached in 23 of 28 games this year and already has eight multi-hit games. She has a team-best 19 walks drawn this year, already surpassing her total from her freshman season and giving her an on-base percentage near .500.

In an outstanding freshman season, Jones led the team with seven home runs and was second on the team with 28 RBIs. She also splits time at catcher, where she has a dangerous arm. She threw out nine would-be base stealers last year and has already caught five more this year.

SALUKI PITCHING FUELS SUCCESS
From 1987-2007, Southern Illinois had a team ERA under 3.00 all 21 seasons. This year, SIU's ERA is back under than 3.00 mark at 2.39, and Southern already has the most shutouts this year (11) since 2011 (13). Brianna Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors twice after throwing a nation-leading eight shutouts. The pitching staff of Jones, Savanna Dover and Nicole Doyle has only allowed six home runs in 181.2 innings; and two of those homers came from the same EIU batter in the same game, which SIU won. Last year, the Salukis allowed a home run, on average, about every six innings. This year, it's one home run allowed every 30 innings. Opponents are hitting .225 this year, compared to .314 last year in non-conference play, and the pitchers this year are averaging about twice as many strikeouts per game.

NON-CONFERENCE COMPARISON SHOWS SIU IMPROVEMENT IN 2016
The Salukis are dramatically improved from last year's 21-26-1 team, and the statistics back that up. Last year's team went 6-15-1 in non-conference games, and this year's team already has 15 non-conference wins. The Salukis have improved in every single statistical catagory. Most notably, SIU has scored 33 more runs while posting a team ERA that is more than two fulls runs better than last year. In addition, this year's team has a higher fielding percentage, higher batting average (by .046 points), higher slugging percentage (by .124), higher on-base percentage, and lower opposing batting average (.314 vs. .228).

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.

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.

Schedules, scores, press releases and statistics are available on SIUSalukis.com.

Lineup Quick Notes
00	Sydney Jones	2016: 22-75 (.293), .480 OB%...AS FROSH (2015): 28 RBIs (2nd on team)...Started all 76 career games...2 game-winning HRs
1	Merri Anne Patterson	All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...2nd on team w/ 5 HRs & 17 RBIs...Last 4G: .556, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs, 2-2 SB
6	Savannah Fisher	Walk-off RBI 2B to beat SEMO...Last 13G: .250, 3 2B, 3 RBIs, 3R, 3-3 SB...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015)
7	Kelsey Gonzalez	CAREER: 174 starts, 142 hits, 20 doubles, 9 HRs, .375 OB%...Hit .308 over last 2.5 seasons (122 starts)...Team captain
9	Hanna Stam	True freshman...Recorded hit in first collegiate at-bat...Hitting 7-for-35 with 3 RBIs...OB% is .300...13 starts
10	Caylee Cook	CAREER: 92 games, 54 starts, 31 hits, 7 doubles, 4 HRs, 20 RBIs...Already career bests in hits, doubles, HRs & RBIs
15	Nicole Doyle	True freshman...Threw no-hitter in 1st career start...HS: 2-time conference MVP, ERA under 1.00 & 6 career no-hitters
17	Eyrika Brandenburg	True freshman...Started 27G in left field...First hit was SIU's first RBI of the season...Hitting .305...4 doubles, 2 triples
20	Hanna Porter	True freshman...Hitting .244....512 SLG%...Three home runs, 9 RBIs...Singled in first career at-bat
22	Brianna Jones	True freshman...Nation-leading 8 shutouts...3-time MVC Pitcher of the Week (2/15, 2/29 & 3/28)...1.41 ERA (leads MVC)
23	Jessica Heese	.317 batting average (2nd on team)...Walk-off HR vs. LUC in 8th...Grand slam vs. SLU...All 3 career HRs in last 3 weeks
25	Shaye Harre	Started all 128 career G...MVC POW after 1st MVC weekend...Career: .332 batting average, 103 RBIs...Team captain
28	Taylor Harris	CAREER: 90 games, 28 starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 9 RBIs...3-3 on stolen bases in 2016, 8 runs scored
32	Jessa Thomas	CAREER: 51 games, 44 starts at catcher...3 doubles and 6 RBIs last year...Executed suicide squeeze vs. ILS...Team captain
59	Savanna Dover	CG SHOs vs. Buffalo & LUC..63 K's in 71.1 IP in `16...Allowed only 21 EX base hits in 136.0 career IP...0.75 ERA last 28.0 IP
	Team	11 shutouts (most since `11)...Extra base hits: SIU 72, OPP 32...6 HR allowed in 181.2 IP...12-1 in last 13G...8G win streak (t-6th longest active streak in NCAA)
HC	Kerri Blaylock	17th Season...Won 582 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances