Saturday, October 6
Carbondale, Ill.
12 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
vs
Jefferson Community College
Salukis close out fall season with three games this weekend
10/04/2018 | 4:43:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team will close out the fall portion of its 2018-19 schedule with three games at Charlotte West Stadium this weekend.
The Salukis host Jefferson Community College (12 p.m.) and Greenville University (2 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 6, before welcoming Austin Peay for a 10-inning game on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.
SIU is coming off last Sunday's doubleheader sweep of St. Louis University and Murray State in which it scored 16 runs on 16 hits, of which three went for extra bases. Eight players tallied at least one hit during the two games, including five with multiple hits. Southern's pitchers, meanwhile, scattered just seven hits across 14 innings of work.
"I wanted to see how we would compete against a couple of good, competitive DI teams," said head coach Kerri Blaylock. "I was really pleased with our effort. Our pitching and defense were tremendous and I really need to praise our hitters- they were at another level."
Southern (5-0) has won all five of its fall games by a combined score of 38-4 and are hitting .323 while holding foes to a .133 batting average.
"Offensively we've been really good and I give all the credit in the world to Jen (Sewell) and our hitters," Blaylock said. "They work so hard at their craft and they take a lot of pride in it. The pitchers have also done a really good job of pounding the zone and getting outs in a timely fashion. I've been very pleased so far."
This weekend, Southern hosts the Vikings and the Panthers on Saturday before closing out the weekend against the Governors on Sunday.
The Jefferson Community College Vikings are fresh off a season in which they went 43-13 and finished fifth in the NJCAA with 193 stolen bases. The Vikings return eight of their top-10 hitters from last season, including Abby Rollet, who hit .519.
The Panthers went 21-17 a year ago and made their third-straight NCAA Division III Tournament Appearance under the direction of former Saluki assistant Buddy Foster. Foster, who spent six seasons at SIU as an assistant under Blaylock, has led Greenville to three-straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament titles and returns 15 letterwinners from a year ago.
The Governors set a school record for wins (39) last season and finished third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Kassie Stanfill was named the 10th head coach in APSU history this past offseason, taking over for Rodney Delong, who resigned to take the head coaching job at North Texas. Stanfill inherits a team that returns OVC Freshman of the Year Bailey Shorter, OVC Pitcher of the Year Morgan Rachel and All-OVC First Teamer Danielle Liermann.
Saturday's festivities kick off with SIU and Jefferson Comm. College going head-to-head at 12 p.m. Southern and Greenville will tangle at 2 p.m. followed by the Vikings versus the Panthers at 4 p.m. Sunday's 10-inning game against Austin Peay begins at 1 p.m.
The Salukis host Jefferson Community College (12 p.m.) and Greenville University (2 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 6, before welcoming Austin Peay for a 10-inning game on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.
SIU is coming off last Sunday's doubleheader sweep of St. Louis University and Murray State in which it scored 16 runs on 16 hits, of which three went for extra bases. Eight players tallied at least one hit during the two games, including five with multiple hits. Southern's pitchers, meanwhile, scattered just seven hits across 14 innings of work.
"I wanted to see how we would compete against a couple of good, competitive DI teams," said head coach Kerri Blaylock. "I was really pleased with our effort. Our pitching and defense were tremendous and I really need to praise our hitters- they were at another level."
Southern (5-0) has won all five of its fall games by a combined score of 38-4 and are hitting .323 while holding foes to a .133 batting average.
"Offensively we've been really good and I give all the credit in the world to Jen (Sewell) and our hitters," Blaylock said. "They work so hard at their craft and they take a lot of pride in it. The pitchers have also done a really good job of pounding the zone and getting outs in a timely fashion. I've been very pleased so far."
This weekend, Southern hosts the Vikings and the Panthers on Saturday before closing out the weekend against the Governors on Sunday.
The Jefferson Community College Vikings are fresh off a season in which they went 43-13 and finished fifth in the NJCAA with 193 stolen bases. The Vikings return eight of their top-10 hitters from last season, including Abby Rollet, who hit .519.
The Panthers went 21-17 a year ago and made their third-straight NCAA Division III Tournament Appearance under the direction of former Saluki assistant Buddy Foster. Foster, who spent six seasons at SIU as an assistant under Blaylock, has led Greenville to three-straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament titles and returns 15 letterwinners from a year ago.
The Governors set a school record for wins (39) last season and finished third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Kassie Stanfill was named the 10th head coach in APSU history this past offseason, taking over for Rodney Delong, who resigned to take the head coaching job at North Texas. Stanfill inherits a team that returns OVC Freshman of the Year Bailey Shorter, OVC Pitcher of the Year Morgan Rachel and All-OVC First Teamer Danielle Liermann.
Saturday's festivities kick off with SIU and Jefferson Comm. College going head-to-head at 12 p.m. Southern and Greenville will tangle at 2 p.m. followed by the Vikings versus the Panthers at 4 p.m. Sunday's 10-inning game against Austin Peay begins at 1 p.m.
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