SIU travels to North Florida for three-game set

Friday, February 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

5 p.m. CT

Southern Illinois University

North Florida

02/22/2018 | 9:07:00 | Baseball

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (1-3) at NORTH FLORIDA (1-3) // Feb. 23-25, 2018 // Jacksonville, Fla. (Weather) // Harmon Stadium (1,000 // Grass) // SIU Game Notes PDF

Southern Illinois faces North Florida for a three-game series over the weekend. The first two games will be streamed through ESPN3, and the Sunday game will be streamed on Facebook Live.

GAME 1 - Friday, February 23 // 5 p.m. CT // ESPN3 | Stats

SIU RHP Michael Baird (0-1, 7.71 ERA)
UNF RHP Brad Depperman (0-0, 15.00 ERA)

GAME 2 - Saturday, February 24 // 1 p.m. CT // ESPN3 | Stats

SIU LHP Jamison Steege (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
UNF RHP Ethan Michaelis (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

GAME 3 - Sunday, February 25 // 12 p.m. CT // Facebook Live | Stats

SIU RHP Mason Hiser (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
UNF RHP Adam Polansky (0-0, 1.93 ERA)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois travels to Jacksonville, Fla., for a three-game series against North Florida. Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed through ESPN3, and Sunday's games will be on Facebook Live at Facebook.com/NorthFloridaOspreys
Southern Illinois and North Florida have only played one other series. The Salukis took two out of three at UNF to open the 2012 season.
The Salukis picked up their first win of the 2018 season on Tuesday at Austin Peay. SIU piled up 12 hits and drew 12 walks in the 16-7 win. Alex Lyon reached in all six plate appearances, going 4-for-4 with a grand slam, two walks, 5 RBIs, 3 runs scored and a stolen base.
The 1, 3, and 4-spots in the SIU lineup are hitting a combined .429 this season. Connor Kopach (leadoff) is hitting .412 with 3 stolen bases. Alex Lyon (3-hole) is hitting .500 (7-14) with a .632 on-base percentage and .929 slugging percentage. Logan Blackfan (cleanup) is 7-for-18 (.389) with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Blackfan leads the MVC in both home runs and RBIs.
SIU has already stolen 12 bases through four games, which leads the MVC by 7. Four of the top six base stealers in the MVC are Salukis.

MVC LEADERS

Logan Blackfan in home runs (3)
Blackfan in total bases (16)
Blackfan in RBIs (9)
Blackfan, Connor Kopach, & Alex Lyon in hits (7)
Alex Lyon in runs scored (6)
Lyon in doubles (3)
Lyon in walks (5)
Alex Lyon & Connor Kopach in stolen bases (3)
Team in runs scored (29)
Team in hits (37)
Team in home runs (7)
Team in total bases (65)
Team in walks drawn (20)
Team in stolen bases (12)
Team in batters struck out (30)

OPENING WEEK RECAP

The Salukis were swept on opening weekend at Jacksonville State before winning a mid-week game at Austin Peay on Tuesday.
JSU led the first and third games start-to-finish. In the second game, SIU held a 7-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Gamecocks rallied to win 10-9.
Logan Blackfan hit 3 home runs in the series. He was one of only 13 players in the nation with three home runs on opening weekend.
SIU has played in hitter-friendly parks with winds blowing out -- still, the Salukis have hit 7 home runs already this year, which ranks eighth in the nation.
The Salukis stole 12 bases, which ranks fourth in the NCAA. Nobody else in the MVC has stolen more than five bases this year.
SIU picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday at Austin Peay. Southern scored 4+ runs in three separate innings. The Salukis drew 12 walks -- five of which were bases-loaded walks -- in the win.