Saluki Baseball hosts Belmont on Tuesday

Tuesday, April 18

Carbondale, Ill.

5 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

Belmont

04/17/2017 | 3:01:00 | Baseball

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (18-19) vs. BELMONT (16-18) // Tuesday, April 18, 2017 // Carbondale, Ill. (Weather) // Itchy Jones Stadium (2,000 // Turf) // SIU Game Notes PDF

Southern Illinois hosts Belmont on Tuesday in mid-week action. SIU and Belmont will start at 5 p.m. CT and will be streamed through ESPN3. Admission will be FREE as part of Southern Illinois Appreciation Week.

GAME LINKS » ESPN3 | Stats | Listen Free | 105.1-FM WVZA | Twitter Updates @SIU_Baseball

PITCHING PROBABLES

SIU LHP Henry Boeckmann (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 11.2 IP)
BEL RHP Casey Queener (0-2, 3.95 ERA, 27.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

The game starts a home stretch for the Salukis. Fourteen of the next 15 games will be at Itchy Jones Stadium. Only 13 of the first 37 games have been at home.
SIU is 10-12 on the road and 8-5 at home this year.
Southern and Belmont played in February, with the Bruins winning, 18-17. The game was the fifth highest-scoring game in Saluki Baseball history in terms of combined runs scored.
Southern Illinois has turned 38 double plays this year, which ranks 10th in the NCAA and leads the MVC by eight.
Since the start of the 2015 season, SIU has turned 153 double plays in 152 games, which leads the MVC in that span. Will Farmer has started all 152 games in the middle infield.
SIU beat Southeast Missouri in last week's mid-week game. SIU turned four double plays in that game.
Freshman Henry Boeckmann will be making his fourth start. He allowed three hits and two unearned runs in three innings last week against SEMO.
SIU closer Netemeyer ranks fourth in the NCAA with 11 saves this season. He leads the MVC by four saves.
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. His 11 saves this season are already tied for third in SIU single-season history.
Netemeyer's 24 career saves...
- Rank second in SIU career history. (Bryant George (2007-10) holds the career record with 30.)
- Rank eighth among active players in Division I baseball (and second among juniors).
Since March 1, Netemeyer's stat line in 14 appearances: 16.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 5H, 17 Ks, 6 BB, .104 opp/BA
Nick Hutchins was added to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. The Johnny Bench Award is given annually to the nation's top catcher.
The Salukis have stolen 63 bases already in 2017, which is more than twice as many as any other MVC school (Bradley is second with 31). SIU ranks 15th nationally in steals.
Last year, Southern stole 38 bases in 57 games. This year, the Salukis have stolen 63 bases in the first 37 games.
Connor Kopach (22), Ryan Smith (11) and Greg Lambert (8) give SIU three of the top seven base stealers in the MVC.
Kopach ranks fifth 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 been on base in all 36 of 37 games this season.
Not only is SIU stealing twice as many bases as everyone else in the MVC, the Salukis are doing it more successfully. Only Evansville has a better success rate stealing bases in the MVC this year. Evansville is 26-for-35 (74.3 percent) and SIU is 63-for-85 (74.1 percent).
As a team, SIU is 12-for-12 stealing bases in the last six games.
Chad Whitmer struck out 13 batters in a complete-game win at Indiana State on Friday night. Whitmer retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced, and his 13 strikeouts were the most by a Saluki since P.J. Finigan (now the team's pitching coach) struck out 17 against Chicago State in 2005.
Whitmer was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week. He and Ryan Netemeyer have earned that honor this year, the first time SIU has had multiple pitchers honored since 2005.