Coach B Classic: Notes and Links

Game Notes (PDF)

The Salukis softball program hosts its annual Coach B Classic this weekend at Charlotte West Stadium. This year's teams for the tournament include, Southern, Illinois, Northern Illinois and Murray State. New to this year's tournament is a format that includes pool play, semi-final, finals and a third-place game. This will also be the first time that Charlotte West Stadium's new video board will be in operation.

Media Links

Tournament Central

Live Audio and Video

Southern's games on Friday and Sunday will be streamed via ESPN 3 and audio streams will be available for all of SIU's games. Connor Onion and Jeremy Sneed will have the call for the games on ESPN 3. Jeremy Sneed will deliver the play-by-play call for Saturday's audio streams.

Live Stats

Live stats are available for all games this weekend regardless if Southern plays in the game or not.
Live Stats Link

Weekend Schedule

Friday, March 2
10 A.M. Illinois vs. Northern Illinois (Live Stats)
Noon Northern Illinois vs. Murray State (Live Stats)
2 P.M. Illinois vs. Southern Illinois (Live Stats) (Live Video) (Live Audio)
4 P.M. Murray State vs. Southern Illinois (Live Stats) (Live Video) (Live Audio)

Saturday, March 3
10 A.M. Murray State vs. Illinois (Live Stats)
Noon Northern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois (Live Stats) (Live Audio)
2 P.M. Seed 4 vs. Seed 1 (Live Stats) (Live Audio) Audio only available if SIU plays in game
4 P.M. Seed 3 vs. Seed 2 (Live Stats) (Live Audio) Audio only available if SIU plays in game

Sunday, March 4
Noon Loser of semi-final 1 vs. loser of semi-final 2 (Live Stats) (Live Video) (Live Audio) Audio and video only available if SIU plays in game
2 P.M. Winner of semi-final 1 vs. winner of semi-final 2 (Live Stats) (Live Video) (Live Audio) Audio and video only available if SIU plays in game

Team listed second is the home team

Seeding Info

The team with the most wins during the tournament will be the No. 1 seed; the remainder of the tournament field will be seeded 2-4 based on win/loss record. The higher seeded team will be the home team. Ties shall be broken in the following manner:

Two Team Tie: Head-to-head competition between the tied teams.
Three Team Tie: Fewest runs allows versus all opponents.

Game Notes

Looking to 2018...

The Salukis return six starters and two of their three pitchers from the 2017 MVC Championship team.
In total, 12 of Southern's 18 players lettered in 2017.
Four Salukis, senior infielder Sydney Jones, junior pitcher Brianna Jones, sophomore second baseman Maddy Vermejan and sophomore outfielder Susie Baranski, were all Preseason All-MVC selections. Southern tied Illinois State for the most selections to the team in the Conference with four.
The Salukis were picked second in the Valley by the league's Coaches. Illinois State was picked first and the Salukis were just one vote behind the Redbirds and one point ahead of Northern Iowa in third place. Southern and Northern Iowa are tied with the most first-place votes with three a piece.

So far...

The Salukis are 7-5 on the season and are outscoring opponents 54-39.
The Salukis had 11 home runs through the first 8 games, the most through as many games since 2003.
Starting pitcher Brianna Jones has struck out 47 batters in 48.2 innings. She's 6-0 on the season and has allowed just 33 hits, 10 earned runs and 10 walks.
On Feb. 17, Southern beat Georgetown 13-4. It was the biggest win and most runs scored in a five-inning game since March 14, 2017 when SIU defeated Southern Utah 14-2.

Milestone/Record watch...

Southern's long time head coach Kerri Blaylock is approaching several big career records and milestones.

As of 2/28 she is...

The all-time leader in wins at SIU with 635. She passed Kay Brechtelsbauer with her 634th on Feb. 23 against UConn.
11 games from the 1,000th of her career. She is projected to manage that game on March 14 at UT - Martin barring cancellations.
She is 8 wins from her 300th in MVC play. She will be the third coach in Conference history to win that many games.

More on Blaylock...

Blaylock is the only coach to lead an MVC team to five-straight NCAA tournaments. She did so from 2003-07.
She has the second-best winning percentage of any coach in the MVC with more than 500 wins.
She is one of just two coaches in the program's 51-year history. Kay Brechtelsbauer is the program's only other coach.

Nationally Ranked Statistically

(Top-50 only)

Maddy Vermejan is ninth in the nation in hit by pitch per game. She's been hit six times in 12 games, an average on 0.50.
Kyleigh Decker has been hit five times in 12 games and is 22nd in the nation with an average of 0.42.
Katelyn Massa is 12th in the nation in doubles with six.
She is 18th in the nation in doubles per games with 6 through 12 games. She averages .50 per.
Massa is 25th in the nation in RBI per game. She has 16 in 12 games for an average of 1.33 per.
Katelyn Massa is 40th in the nation in home runs with 4.
She is also 40th in the nation in home runs per game with an average of 0.33.
Her .861 slugging percentage is the 44th best in the nation.
Brianna Jones has won six games this year; good for 20th in the nation.
As a team, the Salukis are 43rd in the nation in home runs per game. SIU has hit 11 in 12 games for an average of .92.

MVC Leading Salukis...

Vermejan is tops in the Valley in hit by pitch with 0.63 per game. She also leads the league in sacrifice hits per game at .25 per.
Katelyn Massa leads the MVC in home runs, home runs per game, doubles, doubles per game and total bases.
Brianna Jones leads the Conference in strikeouts with 35 and is tied for the lead in wins with 4.

Starting Fast...

The Salukis are 5-0 this season when they score first, or score in the first inning, or when leading after one inning. Adversely, the team is 0-3 when trailing after the first inning.

Youth Movement...

Of Southern's starters in 2017, three of them were freshmen. They were; outfielder Susie Baranski, second baseman Maddy Vermejan and catcher/DP Katelyn Massa.

On Baranski...

Baranski was one of only four players to start in all 57 games.
She led the team in at-bats (181), hits (53) and runs scored (39).
She was also second on the team in walks (31) and steals (9).
Baranski was a preseason All-MVC selection.

On Massa...

Massa unseated a senior catcher and started in 43 games behind the plate or as a DP.
She hit .297 with 5 home runs and 22 RBI and struck out only 14 times, the least of any starter last year.
She was perfect in the field posting a 1.000 fielding percentage while throwing out 11 of 17 potential base stealers.
She was an All-MVC second team selection in 2017.

On Vermejan...

Made 54 starts and hit .284 in her freshman season.
She led the team in batting average during the Conference season hitting at a .350 clip.
She was third on the team with 7 doubles.
Posted a .990 fielding percentage, the best of any non-catcher on the team.
Was selected to the 2017 All-MVC second team and the All-Defensive team and is a member of this year's preseason All-MVC team.

Friendly Confines...

Since Charlotte West Stadium opened in 2003, Southern has been extremely successful on its home field winning 213 games and losing just 79 for an .763 win percentage.
Last year, Southern was 11-2 last year at home.

Scouting the Opponents...

On Illinois..

The Fighting Illini are 3-6 this year and are being outscored 36-49.
Last year, the Illini were 39-20 and 14-8 in the Big Ten. They qualified for the NCAA tournament and were eliminated from the Lexington Regional.
As a team, Illinois ranks in the top-50 nationally in two categories, double plays per game (13th) and doubles per game (26th).
Illinois has a team ERA of 4.10. Emily Oestreich has pitched the most innings at 26.1 striking out 17 and walking 13. She is 2-2 this year.
Alexis Carrillo leads the Illini this year in hitting with an average of .474. She's played in eight games. She has a home run, a double and 5 RBI. In total, six players are hitting above .300 for U of I.
The Salukis are 4-13 all-time against Illinois. The two teams last met in 2013 when Illinois won 4-2 in an extra-inning affair.

On Murray State...

The Racers are 5-8 so far this season and are outscoring teams 69-44. Last year Murray was 36-20 and 11-7. The team qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championship.
As a team, Murray State only ranks in the top-50 in the nation in one category; hit batters. The Racers have hit one batter all season.
Racer Lexi Jones has hit four home runs this season. She is 40th in the nation in the category.
Overall, Murray State's pitchers have a combined 3.71 ERA. Olivia Suski and Haven Campbell have both thrown more than 30 innings. Suski has a 3.00 GPA and a 1-4 win/loss record. She's struck out 11 and walked five. Campbell's ERA is 3.97 and she's 4-3 on the season. She's struck out 11 and walked 11.
The Salukis are 4-2 all-time vs. Murray State. The teams last met in 2017 at the Coach B Classic. The Racers won 8-7.

On Northern Illinois...

The Huskies are 2-8 this year. Like Southern, NIU has played Michigan State. The Huskies dropped that game 4-3.
Last year, they were 33-21 and 15-9 in the MAC.
Northern Illinois is in the top-50 in one national category, the team is 10th in the nation in triples per game averaging .50 per.
Alaynie Woollard is fourth in the nation in walks with 10. She's hitting a team-leading .333 with 6 RBI and 5 runs scored. Her .531 on-base percentage is the best on the team
NIU's team ERA is 5.09. Tara Thacker has a 5.62 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched. She has the highest ERA of any Huskie pitcher that has thrown more than 10 innings. Her 15 strikeouts are the most on the team.
NIU and SIU have faced 37 times. The Huskies lead the all-time series 20-17. NIU won the last meeting between the two teams at the 2017 Coach B Classic 9-3.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Susie Baranski

Kyleigh Decker

Brianna Jones

Sydney Jones

Katelyn Massa

Maddy Vermejan

Scoreboard

Upcoming Events