Salukis set to face UT-Martin in mid-week clash

Wednesday, March 14

Martin, TN

4:00 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

University of Tennessee at Martin

03/13/2018 | 5:30:00 | Softball

By: Tony McDaniel, SIUSalukis.com

Game Notes (PDF)

Saluki softball (13-9) will play UT-Martin in their first mid-week game of 2018 and the final tune-up prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday. Head coach Kerri Blaylock is also set to manage her 1,000th game of her career against UT-Martin. The game is set for a 4 P.M. start in Martin, Tennessee.

Media Links

UT-Martin is proving live stats for the game. They are available at the link below.

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=203083

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 13-9 on the season and are outscoring opponents 104-76.
The Salukis had 11 home runs through the first 8 games, the most through as many games since 2003.
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.
Southern short-gamed opponents in back-to-back games agains Murray State on March 4 and Delaware State on March 9. It was the first time the Salukis had done so since March 12 and March 14 of 2017 when they did it to Portland State and Southern Utah.

Milestone/Record watch...

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

As of 3/13 she is...

The all-time leader in wins at SIU with 641. She passed Kay Brechtelsbauer with her 634th on Feb. 23 against UConn.
One game 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 10th in the nation in hit by pitch per game. She's been hit 10 times in 17 games, an average on 0.45.
Brianna Jones has won 11 games this year; good for 9th in the nation.
Brianna Jones has struck out 87 batters this year, good for 39th in the nation.
Brianna Jones has hit two batters this season, the 21st-least amount in the nation.

MVC Leading Salukis...

Vermejan is tops in the Valley in hit by pitch per game with 0.45 per game.
Brianna Jones leads the Conference in wins with 11.

Starting Fast...

The Salukis are 10-0 this season when they score first, 6-0 when they score in the first inning and when leading after one inning. Adversely, the team is 1-4 when trailing after the first inning and 2-5 when allowing runs in the first inning.

Power Generators...

Sophomore Katelyn Massa leads the team in RBI (18), home runs (5), doubles (6), slugging percentage (.625) and walks (14).
Through 17 games in 2016, Massa was hitting .167 with a walk, no RBI, home runs or doubles.
This year Maddy Vermejan has already hit two home runs and earned 11 RBI.
In all of 2016, she had just 20 RBI and didn't hit a round-tripper.
Freshman Jenny Jansen leads the team in hits (24), doubles (6), and total bases (42). She is also second on the team in Home runs (4) and RBI (12).

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.

Sophomore Kyleigh Decker has started every game at first for the Salukis this year.

So far this year, three freshmen, Jenny Jansen, Maris Boelens and Megan Brown have combined for 37 starts and 46 appearances.

Captain's Catch...

Senior team captain Savannah Fisher is having a great year when it comes to run production. She is second on the team in RBI with 13, equaling her total from all of 2017.
She is currently hitting .217, .077 points better than her 2017 average.
She's slugging at a clip of .413, .154 points better than her 2017 average.

Ace in the hole...

Saluki junior Brianna Jones is off to a fantastic start to the 2018 season.
Jones is 11-1 with 86 strikeouts, 17 walks and 11 complete games, three of which have been shutouts. She currently has an ERA of 1.82.
Jones earned the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week Award on March 12 for her performance at the USF Under Armour Showcase after going 3-0 with 23 strikeouts, four walks, three complete games and holding opposing hitters to a batting average of .181.
Jones leads the league in wins (11), innings pitched (88.2) and starts (13) and is top-five in batters struck out (86), batters struck out looking (32) and appearances (16).
Twice this year she has struck out 10 hitters. She did so once against Mercer on 2/16 and again against Maine on 3/11.

Homecoming...

First-year volunteer assistant coach Kenzi Tate will return to UT-Martin, her alma mater for this game.
Tate was a pitcher and infielder for the Skyhawks from 2012-15. A four-year starter, and was a two-time All-OVC selection. She holds the single-season program record at UT-Martin in RBI with 56.
Tate was a part of UT-Martin's 2012 OVC Championship team.

Scouting UT-Martin...

The Skyhawks are 11-13 this year.
UT-Martin ranks in the top-25 in the nation in double plays per game and steals per game. The Skyhawks turn .50 double plays per game, the 21st most in the nation and steals 1.96 bags per game, the 22nd most in the nation.
Senior catcher Aeron Smith is 28th in the nation in doubles with 8 and 12th in the nation with 3 sacrifice flies.
Three Skyhawks are hitting better than .300 this season.
Jodie Duncan leads the team with an average of .342. She also has five doubles and 12 RBI.
Alli Fulcher is hitting .333 with 6 doubles and a team-leading three home runs and 11 RBI.
Smith is hitting .322 with 8 doubles and a team-leading 13 RBI.
Savannah Dodson is hitting just .231, but has stolen 12 bases on 15 attempts.
UT-Martin's pitcher, Caitlin Kero, leads the team in ERA at 1.72 and has a 6-3 record. She's struck out 23 batters and walked 11.
Hannah Ridolfi has an ERA of 2.23 and a 5-7 record. She leads the team in innings pitched with 78.1, strikeouts with 28 and walks with 26.
As a team, the Skyhawks have a 2.65 ERA.
The Salukis are 13-6 all time against UT-Martin. Southern won the last meeting against UT-Martin in 2016 3-0. Martin's last win over SIU came in 2014 in extra innings, 5-4.