Southern hosts Jacksonville State for weekend series

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (11-10) vs. JACKSONVILLE STATE (10-9) // March 24-26, 2017 // Carbondale, Ill. (Weather) // Itchy Jones Stadium (2,000 | Turf) // SIU Game Notes

Southern Illinois hosts Jacksonville State for a three-game series this weekend. SIU-JSU will start at 1 p.m. on both Friday and Sunday, with a 2 p.m. start scheduled for Saturday. The Gamecocks also visited Carbondale last year, with SIU winning the final two games to take the series.

GAME 1 - Friday, March 24 // 1 p.m. CT // Listen Free // Stats // 1300-AM or 95.5-FM in Carbondale

SIU RHP Chad Whitmer (1-1, 3.82 ERA, 30.2 IP)
JSU LHP Derrick Adams (1-2, 7.40 ERA, 24.1 IP)

GAME 2 - Saturday, March 25 // 2 p.m. CT // Listen Free // Stats // 1300-AM or 95.5-FM in Carbondale

SIU RHP Michael Baird (4-0, 0.75 ERA, 36.0 IP)
JSU RHP Colton Pate (1-2, 4.70 ERA, 23.0 IP)

GAME 3 - Sunday, March 26 // 1 p.m. CT // Listen Free // Stats // 1300-AM or 95.5-FM in Carbondale

SIU LHP Joey Marciano (2-0, 1.59 ERA, 17.0 IP)
JSU RHP Joe McGuire (2-0, 3.00 ERA, 15.0 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois hosts Jacksonville State for a three-game series this weekend at Itchy Jones Stadium. Friday and Sunday's games will start at 1 p.m. Saturday's matchup will start at 2 p.m.
Saluki Baseball is hosting its 21st annual fish fry and memorabilia auction on Friday night from 5-8 p.m. at the Carbondale Civic Center. Featured items include memorabilia signed by Walt Frazier, Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Adam Wainwright, Jason Frasor, and Ozzie Smith. All proceeds benefit Saluki Baseball.
SIU and Jacksonville State met last year for a three-game series, with Southern winning two out of three. The Gamecocks won on Friday night, but Southern bounced back and won the final two games to take the series.
SIU holds a 9-8 edge in the all-time series.
SIU's weekend starters are a combined 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 84 innings.
SIU closer Ryan Netemeyer is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week. Netemeyer pitched 3.2 no-hit innings last week while picking up three saves.
Netemeyer ranks fourth in the NCAA with seven saves this season. Nobody else in the MVC has more than four.
SIU's single-season saves record is 13 by Al Levine in 1990. Netemeyer had 12 saves last year, which rank second in SIU single-season history.
Netemeyer's 20 career saves...
- Rank second in SIU career history. (Bryant George (2007-10) holds the career record with 30.)
- Rank 12th among active players in Division I baseball
Baird posted a 1.76 ERA in 2016, the best mark for any returning starter in the NCAA. Over the last two season (20 starts), Baird has a 1.50 ERA in 138 innings.
The Salukis have stolen 40 bases already in 2017, which is more than twice as many as any other team in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU ranks 13th in the nation in stolen bases.
Last year, Southern stole 38 bases in 57 games. This year, the Salukis have stolen 40 bases in the first 21 games.
Connor Kopach (11), Ryan Smith (7) and Greg Lambert (6) give SIU three of the top-four base stealers in the MVC.
Kopach ranks 18th nationally in stolen bases. Kopach is coming off a summer in which he set a Northwoods League record for stolen bases with 50. He has reached base safely in all 21 games this season.
Kopach is one of three players in the NCAA with 10+ doubles and 10+ stolen bases, joining Mississippi State's Brent Rooker and Niagara's Tanner Kirwer.
Since the start of the 2015 season, Southern Illinois has turned 138 double plays in 136 games, the best mark in the MVC. Will Farmer has started all 136 of those games in the middle infield.
In his last six games played, Dyllin Mucha has raised his batting average .100 points from .263 to .364. Mucha is 7-for-14 with three doubles in that span.

MVC LEADERS

Connor Kopach in doubles (11)
Kopach in sacrifice bunts (3)
Kopach in stolen bases (11)
Michael Baird in ERA (0.75)
Baird in innings pitched (36.0)
Baird in wins (4)
Ryan Netemeyer in saves (7)
Team in hits (207)
Team in doubles (48)
Team in stolen bases (40)

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Players Mentioned

Michael Baird

Will Farmer

Connor Kopach

Greg Lambert

Joey Marciano

Dyllin Mucha

Ryan Netemeyer

Ryan Smith

Chad Whitmer

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