Softball Heads to Valpo for First MVC Road Trip

Game Notes (PDF)

Saluki softball (18-11, 3-2 MVC) sets off for Valparaiso, Indiana this weekend for its first Missouri Valley Conference road trip of 2018 against Conference newbies Valparaiso (14-13, 2-4 MVC). Valpariaso and Southern have met one time in the program's history, Southern won that meeting in 2005 6-0. This will be the first time SIU makes the trip to Valparaiso. The series is scheduled for a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday; both teams are scheduled to have Easter Sunday off. However, rain is in the forecast for Saturday, follow along with @SIU_Softball for all updates, weather related and otherwise.

Schedule and Media Links

All three games this weekend are set to be broadcast on the Saluki Sports Network. Saluki softball SID Tony McDaniel will be on the call. Links to the audio streams are below. Valparaiso will provide live stats for all three games, links are included below.

Friday

SIU at Valparaiso | 1 pm and 3 pm | Live Stats (Game One , Game Two) Live Audio (Game One, Game Two)

Saturday

SIU at Valparaiso | 11 am | Live Stats Live Audio

Notes

Leading off...

The Salukis are 18-11 on the season. At this point last season, SIU was 15-14.
Junior pitcher Brianna Jones is 15-1 on the season. She has the sixth most wins in the nation and is one of 12 pitchers that have won at least 11 games and lost one or less.
Sophomore Katelyn Massa is challenging the single-season RBI record. She has 33. The program record is 51. There are still 24 regular-season games to play.
Freshman Jenny Jansen is having a breakout season hitting .326 with 6 home runs and 19 RBI.

Milestone/Record watch...

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

As of 3/28 she is...

The all-time leader in wins at SIU with 645. She passed Kay Brechtelsbauer with her 634th on Feb. 23 against UConn.
Managed her 1,000th game against UT-Martin on March 14 in a 2-1 win.
She is 5 wins from her 300th in MVC play. She will be the third coach in Conference history to win that many games.

Nationally Ranked Statistically

(Top-50 only)

Maddy Vermejan is 3rd in the nation in hit by pitch per game. She's been hit 15 times in 29 games, an average on 0.52.
Vermejan is 40th in the nation in on base percentage at .514.
Brianna Jones has won 15 games this year; good for sixth in the nation.
Brianna Jones has struck out 109 batters this year, good for 41st in the nation.
Katelyn Massa is 32nd in RBI per game at 1.14 per.
As a team, the Salukis are 44th in fielding percentage at .971.

MVC Leading Salukis...

Vermejan is tops in the Valley in hit by pitch per game with 0.53 per game.
Vermejan leads the league in runs per game at 0.90.
Brianna Jones leads the Conference in wins with 15.
Katelyn Massa's 59 total bases are a league best.

Starting Fast...

The Salukis are 14-0 this season when they score first, 8-1 when they score in the first inning and 7-0 when leading after one inning. Adversely, the team is 1-4 when trailing after the first inning and 3-6 when allowing runs in the first inning.

Sophomore slump?

Sophomore Katelyn Massa leads the team in RBI (33), home runs (6), doubles (9), hits (31), slugging percentage (.713) and walks (16) and total bases (58). She's struck out just five times in 86 at-bats.
She has already surpassed her 2017 numbers in doubles, home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases and steals.
Massa is on pace to challenge the single-season program record in RBI. The record is 51. She has 33 with 24 regular-season games to play and the MVC Tournament
This year sophomore Maddy Vermejan has already hit two home runs and earned 13 RBI. She leads the team in runs scored (26), batting average (.375) and on-nase percentage (.514).
In all of 2016, she had just 20 RBI and didn't hit a round-tripper.

Ace in the hole...

Saluki junior Brianna Jones is off to a fantastic start to the 2018 season.
Jones is 15-1 with 108 strikeouts, 27 walks and 13 complete games, three of which have been shutouts. She currently has an ERA of 2.02.
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.
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.

Scouting Valparaiso...

This is Valpo's first season in the Valley. They are 14-12 on the season and 2-4 in the Valley. The Crusaders are 131st in RPI.
Valparaiso has two pitchers with sub-2.00 ERAs. Kenzie Grossman has a 1.48 ERA and a 9-5 record. She's 45th in the nation in ERA. Emily Richardson has a 1.88 ERA and a 2-1 record with 3 saves. Richardson is 16th in the NCAA in saves and 17th in hits allowed per seven innings.
Offensively, Two Crusaders are hitting better than .300. Jaymee Lawton lead the team in batting average (.329), hits (26), RBI (27) and home runs (9). Taylor Lawson is hitting .325 with 20 steals, good for 13th in th nation.
Valpo and SIU have met once. Southern won that game 6-0 in 2005.

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Players Mentioned

Jenny Jansen

Brianna Jones

Katelyn Massa

Maddy Vermejan

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