Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU at MVC Tournament: Notes & Links
05/10/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
| No. 4 Seed SIU (32-18, 15-10 MVC) hosts MVC Tournament | |
| Dates | May 12-14, 2016 | Tournament Central |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium (502) | Weather |
| Quarterfinal | Friday, May 13 | 11 a.m. CT | AM-1300 WFRX | ESPN3 | SIU Audio | Live Stats |
| Semifinal | Friday, May 13 | 4 p.m. CT | AM-1300 WFRX | ESPN3 | SIU Audio | Live Stats |
| Championship | Saturday, May 14 | 1 p.m. CT | AM-1300 WFRX | ESPN3 | SIU Audio | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois | MVC Tournament Central |
| 2016 Stats | Southern Illinois | MVC |
| Social Media | @SIU_Softball  | @SIU_Softball  | Saluki Softball  |
Southern Illinois (32-18, 15-10 MVC)
- Head Coach: Kerri Blaylock (594-323-1, 17th Season)
- Associate Head Coach: Jen Sewell
- Assistant Coach: Katie Wagner
FAST FIVE
- SIU has won seven of its last nine games entering the MVC Tournament.
- SIU is seeking its first MVC Tournament title since 1991. SIU won three regular-season MVC titles and earned five NCAA Tournament at-large berths since then.
- Southern Illinois hosts the MVC Tournament at Charlotte West Stadium for the fourth time. SIU also hosted in 2004, 2008 and 2012. The Stadium was built in 2003.
- SIU is 5-4 in MVC Tournament games played at Charlotte West Stadium. The Salukis advanced to the championship game in 2004 and 2012 while hosting the league tournament at Charlotte West Stadium.
- Southern Illinois has 32 wins this season, the most for the program since 2012.
FOR STARTERS
SIU hosts the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Kay Brechtelsbauer Field / Charlotte West Stadium from May 12-14. The Salukis are the No. 4 seed in the eight-team tournament and will play at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, May 13. SIU will face the winner of the Bradley-Missouri State game, which will lead off the tournament at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 12. The winner of SIU's game advances to play No. 1 seed Wichita State at 4 p.m. on Friday, and the Championship game is at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Southern Illinois...
- has won seven of its last nine games, all MVC games.
- has beaten seven of the eight teams in the league tournament at least once this season. The Salukis won three-game series against Northern Iowa, Bradley, Illinois State, and Missouri State; and SIU split two games with Wichita State.
- has advanced to the conference tournament for 32 of its 33 seasons.
- pitched 15 shutouts this season. SIU already has the most shutouts since 2007 (18), and all three pitchers have already thrown at least one shutout.
- has only allowed only 16 home run in 330.0 innings pitched. Everyone else in the league has allowed at least 21 home runs, and seven of the 10 teams allowed more than twice as many home runs as SIU.
- leads the league (all games) in ERA (2.38), opposing batting average (.237), runs allowed (133), hits allowed (295), earned runs allowed (112), walks allowed (114), doubles allowed (41) and home runs allowed (16).
- leads the league (MVC games) in ERA (2.01), opposing batting average (.241), runs allowed (63), earned runs allowed (49), walks allowed (47) doubles allowed (16), home runs allowed (11) and fielding percentage (.970).
- is out-homering opponents 36-16 this season. SIU has 110 extra-base hits, compared to just 61 for opponents.
- has posted a winning home record for 35 consecutive years.
- hosts the 2016 MVC Championships at Charlotte West Stadium and Kay Brechtelsbauer Field.
- is 201-77 (.726) at home in its 14th seasons at Charlotte West Stadium.
TOP OF THE ORDER HEATING UP
SIU was won seven of its last nine games, and eight of those nine games have been against teams that finished in the top half of the league (#1 Wichita State, #3 UNI and #5 Bradley). In those nine games, the top four hitters in Southern's order have combined to hit .412 (45-for-109) with eight doubles. Shaye Harre is hitting .545 over the last three weeks and slugging 1.091 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Her on-base percentage over the last three weeks is an astounding .688. Senior leadoff hitter Kelsey Gonzalez has also been hot, hitting .433, and she's followed in the lineup by Eyrika Brandenburg, who has hit .414 over the last nine games.
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 10 shutouts and 22 wins. Among freshmen with at least 100 innings (Jones has 197 innings), Jones ranks fourth nationally in ERA.
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 2.38, and Southern already has the most shutouts this year (15) since 2007 (18). Brianna Jones has earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors three times after throwing 10 shutouts. The pitching staff of Jones, Savanna Dover and Nicole Doyle has only allowed 16 home runs in 330.0 innings, about one home run allowed every 29 innings, which is by far the best mark in the MVC.
DOVER AMONG MVC'S BEST
Savanna Dover has been one of the best pitchers in the conference through 23 MVC games. Dover's ERA in league games (1.81) ranks second in the MVC, and she has struck out 37 while allowing only eight extra-base hits and limiting opponents to a .221 batting average. She has thrown shutouts against Loyola, Indiana State, and Northern Iowa, as well. Dover's shutout was the first time UNI had been shut out in Valley play all year.
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 150 games in her career and hit in the middle of the order since her first game of freshman year. Nearing the end of her junior season, Harre has collected 137 hits (.326 career hitter), 30 doubles, 22 home runs and 114 RBIs.
This season, Harre is hitting .364 with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and a team-high 41 RBIs. Harre led the team in RBIs in each of her three seasons in Carbonadle. She is slugging .727 in 2016 and reaching at a .511 clip. Harre leads the league in on-base percentage. Outside of one 13-game stretch in early April, Harre hit .449, slugged .929 and reached at a .574 clip.
Harre has entered the SIU single-season record books already this season with 12 home runs and 39 walks drawn, both in the top-10 in SIU single-season history. Harre, a junior, also has 22 career home runs, which also ranks in the top-10 in SIU career history. Harre drew 25 walks in 25 MVC games, becoming the first Valley player since 2003 average at least one walk drawn per MVC game.
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 leads the conference in doubles in MVC play with nine. She is hitting .285 this year, and she also has 14, doubles, three triples and four home runs to give her a .545 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage ranks second on the team, and her 14 doubles lead the team and rank sixth in SIU single-season history.
SIU DEDICATES FIELD TO KAY BRECHTELSBAUER
SIU dedicated its field to Hall-of-Fame coach Kay Brechtelsbauer prior to the series with Northern Iowa. Coach B won 633 games in 32 seasons as SIU's head coach, retiring after the 1999 season. She retired with the most overall and conference wins in MVC history, and she remains the fourth-winningest coach in conference history.
HOME SWEET HOME
SIU has gone 12-7 at home in 2016, clinching the program's 35th consecutive winning season at home. SIU is 201-76 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: 42-145 (.290), .411 OB%...12 multi-hit games...Started all 98 career G...2 game-winning HRs |
| 1 | Merri Anne Patterson | All-MVC & MVC All-Defensive Team (2015)...6 HRs & 23 RBIs...22 consecutive successful stolen base att. |
| 6 | Savannah Fisher | Walk-off RBI 2B to beat SEMO...Career highs in H, R...8-8 stealing bases...HR at WSU...MVC Academic Honor Roll (2015) |
| 7 | Kelsey Gonzalez | CAREER: 196 starts, 164 hits...373 OB%...Last 9G: 13-30 (.443)...Hit .305 over last 3 seasons (144 starts)...Team captain |
| 9 | Hanna Stam | True freshman...Recorded hit in first collegiate at-bat...Hitting 10-for-48 with 4 RBIs...18 starts |
| 10 | Caylee Cook | CAREER: 110 games, 67 starts, 36 hits, 7 doubles, 4 HRs, 21 RBIs...Career bests in hits, doubles, HRs & RBIs |
| 15 | Nicole Doyle | True freshman...Threw no-hitter in 1st career start (vs. Hartford)...Last nine innings: only 1 earned run allowed |
| 17 | Eyrika Brandenburg | True freshman...Started 48G in left field...First hit was SIU's first RBI of the season...Hitting .327 (2nd on team)...4 2Bs, 2 3Bs |
| 20 | Hanna Porter | True freshman...Hitting .259...Three home runs, 16 RBIs...Singled in first career at-bat...Last G (@WSU): 2-3, R, 2 RBIs, 2B |
| 22 | Brianna Jones | National FR of Year finalist...10 shutouts (4th in nation)...3-time MVC Pitcher of the Week...Leads MVC in Ws & SHOs |
| 23 | Jessica Heese | .285 batting average, .545 slg%...Walk-off HR vs. LUC in 8th...Hit 2 grand slams...3rd in MVC w/ 14 2Bs (9 in MVC) |
| 25 | Shaye Harre | Leads MVC in OB% (.511)...3-time MVC POW (twice in `16)...Career: .326 batting average, 114 RBIs...Team captain |
| 28 | Taylor Harris | CAREER: 99 games, 28 starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, HR, 9 RBIs...3-3 on stolen bases in 2016, 11 runs scored |
| 32 | Jessa Thomas | CAREER: 69 games, 61 starts at catcher...Reached in 12 of last 17 MVC G...Career-high 10 RBIs this year...Team captain |
| 59 | Savanna Dover | 4 CG SHOs...1.81 ERA in MVC...Allowed only 31 EX base hits in 184.1 career IP...Went 597 cons. batters w/o allowing HR |
| Team | 15 shutouts (most since `07)...Extra base hits: SIU 110, OPP 61...16 HR allowed in 333.0 IP...Led MVC in ERA, SHOs | |
| HC | Kerri Blaylock | 17th Season...Won 594 games at SIU...Three MVC titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances |
