Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU at MSU: Game Notes & Links
04/08/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| SIU (21-11, 5-3 MVC) at Missouri State (13-19, 2-5 MVC) | |
| Dates | April 9-10, 2016 |
| Location | Springfield, Mo. | Weather |
| Game 1 | April 9 | 12 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Video Stream | SIU Audio |
| Game 2 | April 9 | 2 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Video Stream | SIU Audio |
| Game 3 | April 10 | 12 p.m. CT | Live Stats | Video Stream | SIU Audio |
| Game Notes | SIU | Missouri State |
| 2016 Stats | Southern Illinois | Missouri State | MVC |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
FAST FIVE
- Brianna Jones leads the conference in ERA (1.76) and wins (16).
- In conference games, Kelsey Gonzalez ranks 14th in batting average (.391) and 10th in on-base percentage (.500).
- SIU (.972, 21st) and Missouri State (.979, 3rd) are both ranked in the top-25 nationally in fielding percentage. They are 1-2 in the MVC in fielding percentage.
- Brianna Jones ranks third nationally in shutouts (8) and ninth in wins (16).
- Eyrika Brandenburg ranks eighth nationally in sacrifice bunts per game.
FOR STARTERS
Saluki Softball concludes a seven-game road swing with a trip to Missouri State for a three-game series this weekend. The Salukis and Bears will play a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a single game at noon on Sunday. Missouri State was the preseason No. 2 pick in the Missouri Valley Conference and received the most first-place votes. SIU took two of three from Missouri State last season in Carbondale, sweeping the doubleheader before falling on Sunday.
Southern Illinois...
- has 21 hits over the last two games. The Salukis are hitting .318 over the two games and are coming off an 11-hit, 10-run game at Murray State.
- has a .972 fielding percentage, ranking 21st nationally and second in the MVC. Missouri State leads the conference and ranks 3rd nationally in fielding percentage.
- 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 seven home run in 206.2 innings pitched. Everyone else in the league has allowed at least twice as many home runs as SIU.
- is out-homering opponents 28-7 this season. SIU has 75 extra-base hits, compared to just 41 for opponents.
- 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.
GONZALEZ STARTS SENIOR VALLEY SEASON HOT
Senior shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez is SIU's leading hitter after a third of this year's conference games. She is hitting .391 (14th in the league) and reaching at a .500 clip (10th in the league) through eight conference games. She has reached in seven of eight games and hit in six of them. Overall, Gonzalez is hitting .323, which is second on the team. In the last two games, she has five hits and four runs scored. Over the past three seasons (126 starts), she has hit .311 (118-for-380) with 78 runs scored, 18 doubles, eight home runs and 41 RBIs. She has done all this while playing outstanding defense and maintaining a 3.96 GPA.
S. JONES HITTING HER STRIDE
Sydney Jones is 5-for-11 in the last three games, including a three-hit game with two RBIs in the series finale against Drake. She is riding a three-game hitting streak and has raised her average above .300 again. Jones went 2-for-3 in the first game of the year and has kept her batting average over .300 for 30 of the 32 games this season. She already has 10 multi-hit games this year, trailing only Shaye Harre on the team. Her two three-hit games are tied for the team lead.
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 third in the nation in shutouts with eight, eighth in the nation in wins with 16 and 38th in the nation in ERA at 1.79. All three marks 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 132 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 122 hits (.324 career hitter), 26 doubles, 19 home runs and 104 RBIs.
This season, Harre is hitting .371 with eight doubles, nine home runs and a team-high 31 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 .764 in 2016 and reaching at a .486 clip.
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 .288 this year, and she also has eight doubles, two triples and three home runs to give her a .575 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage ranks second on the team.
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 last year. 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.
Over the last eight games, Patterson leads the team with a .350 batting average and also has a .550 slugging percentage. She has a hit in six of those last eight games, and she has also drawn three walks for a .435 on-base percentage.
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 .262 in 23 starts this year and already has career highs in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs. Her slugging percentage is approaching .415 and she has stolen two bases, as well. Her RBI total this year (11) already exceeds 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.
PORTER COMING OFF CAREER GAME
Freshman Hanna Porter had a career game at Murray State. She was a late addition to the starting lineup, and she responded with career highs in hits (3) and RBIs (3).
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 2.69, 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 seven home runs in 206.2 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, which is by far the best mark in the MVC. Opponents are hitting .237 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.
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.
- 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: 27-96 (.307), .466 OB%...AS FROSH (2015): 28 RBIs (2nd on team)...Started all 80 career games...2 game-winning HRs |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...2nd on team w/ 5 HRs & 18 RBIs...Last 8G: .350 average (leads team) |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | Walk-off RBI 2B to beat SEMO...2-for-6, RBI in 2G vs. Loyola...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015) |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | CAREER: 178 starts, 147 hits, 22 doubles, 9 HRs, .378 OB%...Hit .3011 over last 2.5 seasons (126 starts)...Team captain |
| 9 | Hanna Stam | True freshman...Recorded hit in first collegiate at-bat...Hitting 8-for-39 with 3 RBIs...OB% is .295...14 starts |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | CAREER: 95 games, 57 starts, 33 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 30G in left field...First hit was SIU's first RBI of the season...Hitting .289...4 doubles, 2 triples |
| 20 | Hanna Porter | True freshman...Hitting .255....490 SLG%...Three home runs, 12 RBIs...Singled in first career at-bat...Last G: 3-4, 3 RBIs |
| 22 | Brianna Jones | True freshman...8 shutouts (3rd in nation)...3-time MVC Pitcher of the Week (2/15, 2/29 & 3/28)...1.76 ERA (leads MVC) |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | .288 batting average, .575 slg%...Walk-off HR vs. LUC in 8th...Grand slam vs. SLU...All 3 career HRs in last 3 weeks |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | Started all 132 career G...MVC POW after 1st MVC weekend...Career: .324 batting average, 104 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: 54 games, 47 starts at catcher...On 4G hit streak...Career-high 7 RBIs this year...Team captain |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | CG SHOs vs. Buffalo & LUC..71 K's in 79.0 IP in `16...Allowed only 25 EX base hits in 143.2 career IP...No HR allowed in `16 |
| Team | 11 shutouts (most since `11)...Extra base hits: SIU 75, OPP 41...7 HR allowed in 206.2 IP...21 hits in last 2 games | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | 17th Season...Won 583 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances |
