Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU vs. UNI: Notes & Links
04/29/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (28-16, 11-8 MVC) vs. UNI (35-15, 13-7 MVC) | |
| Dates | April 30-May 1, 2016 |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium (502) | Weather |
| Game 1 | Saturday, April 30 | 3 p.m. CT* | Free Video | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Saturday, April 30 | 5 p.m.* | Free Video | Live Stats |
| Game 3 | Sunday, May 1 | 12 p.m.* | Free Video | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois | MVC |
| 2016 Stats | Southern Illinois | Northern Iowa | MVC |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
*SCHEDULE NOTE: With rain in the forecast this weekend, be sure to check Twitter @SIU_Softball for any scheduling updates or changes.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (28-16, 11-8 MVC)
- Head Coach: Kerri Blaylock (590-321-1, 17th Season)
- Associate Head Coach: Jen Sewell
- Assistant Coach: Katie Wagner
NORTHERN IOWA (35-15, 13-7 MVC)
- Head Coach: Ryan Jacobs (264-205, 9th Season)
- Assistant Coach: Julie Gerdes
- Assistant Coach: Matt Egger
FAST FIVE
- SIU will dedicate Kay Brechtelsbauer Field prior to Saturday's doubleheader. Coach B won 633 games in 32 seasons as head coach at SIU.
- SIU's three seniors (Caylee Cook, Kelsey Gonzalez and Taylor Harris) will be honored following Sunday's game.
- SIU has allowed the fewest home runs in the MVC (11), while Northern Iowa leads the league in home runs hit (58).
- SIU is looking for win No. 200 at Charlotte West Stadium, which is in its 14th year. SIU is 199-75 since the stadium was built prior to the 2003 season.
- Savanna Dover (1.75) and Brianna Jones (2.23) have the second- and third-best ERAs among all MVC pitchers in conference games.
FOR STARTERS
SIU hosts Northern Iowa for the final regular-season home games of the season. The teams will play a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. SIU will dedicate Kay Brechtelsbauer field prior to Saturday's doubleheader. Coach B won 633 games in 32 seasons as SIU's head coach before retiring after the 1999 season. On Sunday, SIU will honor its three seniors--Caylee Cook, Kelsey Gonzalez and Taylor Harris--after Sunday's game.
Southern Illinois...
- has a .970 fielding percentage in conference play, the best mark in the MVC.
- pitched 13 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 11 home run in 291.0 innings pitched. Everyone else in the league has allowed at least 20 home runs. SIU has allowed only one home run in the last 64.0 innings.
- has the lowest team ERA (2.43) in the conference.
- is out-homering opponents 33-11 this season. SIU has 96 extra-base hits, compared to just 53 for opponents.
- went 10-5 at Charlotte West Stadium in 2015, the 34th consecutive season SIU had a winning record at home. SIU is 10-6 this season at home.
- hosts the 2016 MVC Championships at Charlotte West Stadium.
- is 199-75 (.726) at home in its 14th seasons at Charlotte West Stadium.
SENIOR DAY FOR COOK, GONZALEZ AND HARRIS
SIU will celebrate its three seniors after Sunday's game vs. UNI. Caylee Cook, Kelsey Gonzalez and Taylor Harris will all graduate with degrees from Southern Illinois in May. The trio has combined to play 394 games and start 282 games. They have led SIU to its most successful season in the last four during their senior seasons in 2016.
SIU TO DEDICATE KAY BRECHTELSBAUER FIELD ON SATURDAY
SIU will dedicate Kay Brechtelsbauer Field before Saturday's doubleheader. Coach Brechtelsbauer won 633 games in 32 seasons as the head coach of Saluki Softball. Coach B's teams made five College World Series appearances. Upon her retirement, Brechtelsbauer had the most overall wins and conference wins in MVC history. She remains the fourth-winningest coach in league history.
BRI JONES A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Brianna Jones is a finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year, the organization announced on Thursday. Jones leads all freshmen nationally with nine shutouts this year. Among freshmen, she ranks first nationally in shutouts, third in wins, fourth in ERA (min. 100 innings), sixth in saves, eighth in fewest walks per seven innings, and 10th in strikeouts.
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 2.43, and Southern already has the most shutouts this year (13) since 2011 (13). Brianna Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors three times after throwing nine shutouts. The pitching staff of Jones, Savanna Dover and Nicole Doyle has only allowed 11 home runs in 291.0 innings. Last year, the Salukis allowed a home run, on average, about every six innings. This year, it's one home run allowed every 26 innings, which is by far the best mark in the MVC. Opponents are hitting .240 this year, compared to .305 last year, and the pitchers this year are averaging about twice as many strikeouts per game.
PITCHING ON A ROLL
In the last nine games, SIU's pitching has an 1.09 ERA in 64.0 innings. Both Brianna Jones and Savanna Dover have thrown shutouts in that stretch. Dover has an 0.60 ERA in 23.1 innings, and Jones has a 1.39 ERA in 40.1 innings. Combined, the pair are limiting opponents to a .203 batting average and only five extra-base hits. Jones is limiting opponents to a .196 batting average while striking out 23 and walking only six. Dover is limiting opponents to a .209 average with 11 strikeouts against only five walks.
DOVER MAKING CASE FOR ALL-MVC
Savanna Dover has arguably been the best pitcher in the conference through 19 MVC games. Dover's ERA in league games (1.75) ranks second in the MVC, and she has struck out 28 while allowing only six extra-base hits (no home runs) and limiting opponents to a .228 batting average. She has thrown shutouts against Loyola and Indiana State, as well.
B. JONES: THREE-TIME MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman pitcher Brianna Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week three times this season. She has also been named MVC Newcomer of the Week twice. Jones ranks second in the nation in shutouts with nine, 16th in the nation in wins with 20 and 56th in the nation in ERA at 1.91. Her wins, ERA and shutout totals lead the MVC. She opened her career with three-straight shutouts and didn't allow an earned run in the first 22.2 innings of her career.
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 144 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 128 hits (.317 career hitter), 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 107 RBIs.
This season, Harre is hitting .336 with nine doubles, 11 home runs and a team-high 34 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, already surpassing her team-leading total of 30 RBIs last season. She is slugging .698 in 2016 and reaching at a .490 clip.
Harre has entered the SIU single-season record books already this season with 11 home runs and 34 walks drawn, both in the top-10 in SIU single-season history. Harre, a junior, also has 21 career home runs, which also ranks in the top-10 in SIU career history.
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. She is hitting .295 this year, and she also has 12 doubles, three triples and four home runs to give her a .567 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage ranks second on the team, and her 12 doubles lead the team and rank fourth in the conference.
PORTER MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF
Freshman Hanna Porter has been outstanding over the last few weeks. She has reached in six of the last seven games. She has drawn six of her 11 walks this season in the last three weeks. In the last 13 games, Porter is hitting a team-best .385 (10-for-26) with two doubles, five runs scored and five RBIs. She has a .500 on-base percentage in that span, and has been outstanding reaching base in pinch-hitting situations.
NEWCOMERS STEPPING UP BIG
Southern Illinois has five freshmen in 2016, and all five made a big immediate impact. Pitcher Brianna Jones leads the nation among freshmen with nine shutouts and has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week three times. Eyrika Brandenburg started 42 games in left field and is hitting .318. Fellow freshmen Hanna Porter and Hanna Stam both recorded hits in their first career at-bats. Porter has been an immediate-impact power bat in the middle of the order, hitting .274 and reaching at a .365 clip. Nicole Doyle didn't play until March while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in June, but she announced her return with a no-hitter in her first collegiate start.
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 is 10-6 at home this year. SIU is 199-75 in its 14th season at Charlotte West Stadium. Southern Illinois hosts the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Charlotte West Stadium May 12-14.
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 590 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.
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.
| Lineup Quick Notes | ||
| 00 | Sydney Jones | 2016: 37-127 (.291), .465 OB%...Team-best 12 multi-hit games...Started all 92 career G...2 game-winning HRs |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...5 HRs & 20 RBIs...21 consecutive successful stolen base att. |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | Walk-off RBI 2B to beat SEMO...Already more H, R than `15...7-7 stealing bases...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015) |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | CAREER: 190 starts, 156 hits, 23 doubles, 9 HRs, .369 OB%...Hit .300 over last 2.5 seasons (138 starts)...Team captain |
| 9 | Hanna Stam | True freshman...Recorded hit in first collegiate at-bat...Hitting 8-for-43 with 3 RBIs...16 starts |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | CAREER: 105 games, 64 starts, 35 hits, 7 doubles, 4 HRs, 21 RBIs...Already career bests in hits, doubles, HRs & RBIs |
| 15 | Nicole Doyle | True freshman...Threw no-hitter in 1st career start...Last nine innings: only 1 earned run allowed |
| 17 | Eyrika Brandenburg | True freshman...Started 42G in left field...First hit was SIU's first RBI of the season...Hitting .318 (2nd on team)...4 2Bs, 2 3Bs |
| 20 | Hanna Porter | True freshman...Hitting .274....Hitting .385 in last 13G...Three home runs, 14 RBIs...Singled in first career at-bat |
| 22 | Brianna Jones | National FR of Year finalist...9 shutouts (2nd in nation)...3-time MVC Pitcher of the Week (2/15, 2/29 & 3/28) |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | .295 batting average, .581 slg%...Walk-off HR vs. LUC in 8th...Grand slams vs. SLU & Mo St...All 4 career HRs in last 5 weeks |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | Started all 144 career G...MVC POW after 1st MVC weekend...Career: .317 batting average, 107 RBIs...Team captain |
| 28 | Taylor Harris | CAREER: 94 games, 28 starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 9 RBIs...3-3 on stolen bases in 2016, 10 runs scored |
| 32 | Jessa Thomas | CAREER: 65 games, 57 starts at catcher...Reached in 11 of last 13 MVC G...Career-high 10 RBIs this year...Team captain |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | CG SHOs vs. Buffalo & LUC..5-2, 1.75 ERA in MVC...Allowed only 29 EX base hits in 174.1 career IP...No HR allowed in `16 |
| Team | 13 shutouts (most since `11)...Extra base hits: SIU 96, OPP 53...11 HR allowed in 291.0 IP...1.09 ERA in last 9 games...199 wins at West Stadium | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | 17th Season...Won 590 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances |
