Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU Baseball hosts Bradley in regular season finale
05/18/2016 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
May 18, 2016
DUE UP
Southern Illinois ends the regular season with a three-game series at home against Bradley (24-19, 8-9 MVC).
STARTING ROTATION
SIU's rotation will remain the same from last weekend. RHP Chad Whitmer will open the series for the Salukis on Thursday. RHP Michael Baird earns the start in game two on Friday, while LHP Joey Marciano closes the series on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
The Salukis are 30-20-1 this season and are coming off of a series win at Evansville this past weekend. Greg Lambert leads the Saluki offense with a .329 batting average and 68 hits. Logan Blackfan has a team-high 47 RBIs. The SIU pitching staff enters the weekend with a 3.48 ERA.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Bradley comes to Carbondale with a 24-19 record and an MVC record of 8-9. The team is hitting .280 this season with 243 runs scored. Spencer Gaa leads the team with a .329 batting average, while Tyler Leffler has a team-high 52 hits. The pitching staff has an ERA of 3.57 and have allowed 184 runs this season. Matt Dennis leads the staff with seven wins.
BRADLEY SERIES
The Salukis lead the all-time series against the Braves, 85-72-1. Bradley won the season series against the Salukis last season.
A LOT AT STAKE
The Salukis will have a lot at stake this weekend going into the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. SIU can finish as a high as first in the MVC and as low as fourth. SIU is currently tied for second with Indiana State.
BAIRD PITCHER OF THE WEEK (3/21)
Michael Baird was three-outs away from a no-hitter, before Illinois hit a bloop single in the ninth inning on Sunday (Mar. 20). Baird bounced back to get three-straight outs to pitch the first complete game shutout since 2012. It was also the first time the Salukis held an opponent to one hit since 2008. Baird was rewarded for his performance by earning his first career MVC Pitcher of the Week honor.
TURN TWO
The Saluki defense continues to make plays with runners on, turning an MVC best 55 double plays this season.
BLACKFAN IN THE RECORD BOOKS (AGAIN)
Logan Blackfan wrote his name in the Saluki record books yet again against Missouri State, hitting a pair of doubles to bring his season total to 20. Blackfan is now tied for fifth for most doubles in a single season.
NETEMEYER IS A SAVE MACHINE
RHP Ryan Netemeyer earned his 11th save this season in SIU's 4-1 victory over Evansville on May 13. Netemeyer is tied for first in the MVC and ranks tied for second in SIU single season history for saves in a season. With 12 career saves, Netemeyer has the sixth most saves for any Saluki pitcher.
IRON MEN
Greg Lambert, Connor Kopach, Logan Blackfan, and Will Farmer are the only Salukis to start all 51 games this season. Farmer has started every game for SIU dating back to last season.
WINGMEN
The infield combination of Connor Kopach (176) and Will Farmer (173) has been very strong for the Salukis this season. The duo rank first and second respectively in the MVC in defensive assists this season.
KOPACH HAS POWER
Connor Kopach showed why he is one of SIU's top hitters, hitting a pair of two-run home runs against the Purple Aces this past weekend. He has three home runs this season and is tied with Ryan Smith and Taylor Martin for second on the team
MULTI-HIT GAMES
Greg Lambert had a strong offensive game against UE on May 15, going 4-for-5 with one double. His performance gave him is 20th multi-hit game of the season. Connor Kopach is second on the team with 19 multi-hit games this season.
SENIOR DAY
SIU will honor seniors Alex Lesiak, Taylor Martin, Bryce Sablotny, and Colten Selvey on Saturday with a pregame ceremony.
| Bradley (24-19, 8-9 MVC) atSouthern Illinois (30-20-1, 11-7 MVC) | |
| Date | Thursday, May 19 - Saturday, May 21 |
| Time | Thurs. - 6:30 p.m. Fri. - 6:30 p.m. Sat. - 2 p.m. |
| Location | Itchy Jones Stadium - Carbondale, Ill. |
| Probables | Thurs. - RHP Chad Whitmer (SIU) vs RHP Matt Dennis (BU) Fri. - RHP Michael Baird (SIU) vs LHP Cameron Roegner (BU) Sat. - LHP Joey Marciano (SIU) vs LHP Brent Stong (BU) |
| Video | Thursday Friday Saturday |
| Radio | Thurs. - 105.1 WVZA Fri. - 105.1 WVZA Sat. - 1300 AM WFRX |
| Audio | SIUSalukis.com |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois |
| Live Stats | |
| 2016 Season Stats | Southern Illinois |
| Social Media | @SIU_Baseball |Saluki Athletics |
DUE UP
Southern Illinois ends the regular season with a three-game series at home against Bradley (24-19, 8-9 MVC).
STARTING ROTATION
SIU's rotation will remain the same from last weekend. RHP Chad Whitmer will open the series for the Salukis on Thursday. RHP Michael Baird earns the start in game two on Friday, while LHP Joey Marciano closes the series on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
The Salukis are 30-20-1 this season and are coming off of a series win at Evansville this past weekend. Greg Lambert leads the Saluki offense with a .329 batting average and 68 hits. Logan Blackfan has a team-high 47 RBIs. The SIU pitching staff enters the weekend with a 3.48 ERA.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Bradley comes to Carbondale with a 24-19 record and an MVC record of 8-9. The team is hitting .280 this season with 243 runs scored. Spencer Gaa leads the team with a .329 batting average, while Tyler Leffler has a team-high 52 hits. The pitching staff has an ERA of 3.57 and have allowed 184 runs this season. Matt Dennis leads the staff with seven wins.
BRADLEY SERIES
The Salukis lead the all-time series against the Braves, 85-72-1. Bradley won the season series against the Salukis last season.
A LOT AT STAKE
The Salukis will have a lot at stake this weekend going into the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. SIU can finish as a high as first in the MVC and as low as fourth. SIU is currently tied for second with Indiana State.
BAIRD PITCHER OF THE WEEK (3/21)
Michael Baird was three-outs away from a no-hitter, before Illinois hit a bloop single in the ninth inning on Sunday (Mar. 20). Baird bounced back to get three-straight outs to pitch the first complete game shutout since 2012. It was also the first time the Salukis held an opponent to one hit since 2008. Baird was rewarded for his performance by earning his first career MVC Pitcher of the Week honor.
TURN TWO
The Saluki defense continues to make plays with runners on, turning an MVC best 55 double plays this season.
BLACKFAN IN THE RECORD BOOKS (AGAIN)
Logan Blackfan wrote his name in the Saluki record books yet again against Missouri State, hitting a pair of doubles to bring his season total to 20. Blackfan is now tied for fifth for most doubles in a single season.
NETEMEYER IS A SAVE MACHINE
RHP Ryan Netemeyer earned his 11th save this season in SIU's 4-1 victory over Evansville on May 13. Netemeyer is tied for first in the MVC and ranks tied for second in SIU single season history for saves in a season. With 12 career saves, Netemeyer has the sixth most saves for any Saluki pitcher.
IRON MEN
Greg Lambert, Connor Kopach, Logan Blackfan, and Will Farmer are the only Salukis to start all 51 games this season. Farmer has started every game for SIU dating back to last season.
WINGMEN
The infield combination of Connor Kopach (176) and Will Farmer (173) has been very strong for the Salukis this season. The duo rank first and second respectively in the MVC in defensive assists this season.
KOPACH HAS POWER
Connor Kopach showed why he is one of SIU's top hitters, hitting a pair of two-run home runs against the Purple Aces this past weekend. He has three home runs this season and is tied with Ryan Smith and Taylor Martin for second on the team
MULTI-HIT GAMES
Greg Lambert had a strong offensive game against UE on May 15, going 4-for-5 with one double. His performance gave him is 20th multi-hit game of the season. Connor Kopach is second on the team with 19 multi-hit games this season.
SENIOR DAY
SIU will honor seniors Alex Lesiak, Taylor Martin, Bryce Sablotny, and Colten Selvey on Saturday with a pregame ceremony.
Players Mentioned
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