2019 Baseball Season Preview

The 2019 Southern Illinois baseball team will continue its exciting, aggressive brand of baseball with a deep core of returning starters and exciting newcomers. After ranking fourth in the NCAA in stolen bases and ninth in pitching shutouts in 2018, SIU returns six position starters, two starting pitchers, and most of its bullpen for the 2019 campaign.

PITCHERS

The starting pitching staff is led by Brad Harrison, an All-MVC pitcher as a sophomore last year who was a three-time MVC Pitcher of the Week. Harrison is the No. 2 returning strikeout pitcher in the MVC in 2019.

Candidates to join Harrison in the starting rotation are Dylan Givens, Noah Farmer, Mason Hiser, and Blake Begner. Givens was third on the team with a 4.18 ERA last year and earned one MVC Pitcher of the Week honor. Farmer, a 6-4 righty from nearby Metropolis, Ill., showed tremendous potential as a freshman in 2018 and could make a leap into the weekend rotation as a sophomore.

Hiser was a weekend starter for the Salukis to begin the 2018 year before suffering a season-ending injury, but has returned healthy in 2019; and Blake Begner is a southpaw sophomore transfer from ICC who started nine games and had a 2.08 ERA in his lone season in junior college.

"We feel really good about the depth of this group," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "All five have started games previously and have the ability to be weekend starters. Their biggest attribute is that they all possess outstanding command of the strike zone with multiple pitches."

Trey McDaniel and Justin Yeager headline the bullpen for SIU. McDaniel was an impact freshman last year, serving as SIU's primary setup man to all-time saves leader Ryan Netemeyer. McDaniel also picked up two saves and finished three shutouts. Yeager, who has the best fastball on the team, boasts a career 3.13 ERA and has struck out 10.2 batters per nine innings in his career.

Senior Hunter Hart, who was drafted in 2014, is one of two seniors on the pitching staff, along with Saluki Football quarterback Matt DeSomer, who joined the team this winter at the conclusion of his football career. They are joined by freshmen Matthew Steidl, Corey Mitson, and Sam Grace. Grace was drafted in the 40^th round out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles.

Juniors Alex Gutermuth, Henry Boeckmann, and Jared Kengott are starting their third seasons for the Salukis. Gutermuth, who had a big freshman season before being slowed by injuries as a sophomore, is expected to be healthy early in the season, and Boeckmann, a valuable left-hander, has shown steady improvement as he fills into his 6-7 frame. Kengott, who has a strong arm but hasn't pitched since high school, has made big strides since joining the pitching staff this year.

"The bullpen is probably the biggest question mark going into the season," Henderson said. "Although talented, we have some guys stepping into new roles and some inexperienced guys that have to prove themselves at this level. Hopefully, our bullpen turns into a strength as the season progresses."

INFIELD

The SIU infield returns Grey Epps, J.T. Weber and Nikola Vasic in 2019. After playing multiple positions last year, Epps is expected to slide into the starting shortstop role to replace Connor Kopach, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. Vasic returns at second base and, along with Epps, will continue to provide the Salukis with one of the most exciting double-play combinations in the league, as they have led the MVC in double plays five of the last six seasons.

Weber is slated to move from third base to first base, replacing SIU's all-time doubles leader Logan Blackfan. Ian Walters and Philip Archer are two new Saluki infielders that should make a big impact. Walters, one of the top junior college infielders in the Midwest last year at Rend Lake will play third base for the Salukis in 2019.

Archer, who was the 2018 GRAC Player of the Year at Olney Central College, brings a middle-of-the-order, left-handed bat and will DH and play first base for SIU.

SIU has infield depth in Alex Lyon. Lyon, a starting outfielder, is one of the best all-around players in the league and can play nearly every position on the field. He saw time at third base and second base for SIU last year.

"Defense should be a strength of our club, and it starts with this infield group," Henderson said. "There are four former shortstops in the group so they are extremely athletic in addition to being very versatile."

OUTFIELD

Southern's deepest position group on the team is in the outfield, with five players returning who earned at least 17 starts last season. The group is led by Lyon, who had an outstanding inaugural season in Carbondale, hitting .316 with 11 doubles, 5 home runs, 40 RBIs and 29 stolen bases while playing primarily in left field.

Kenton Crawford and Addison Fugitt combined for 91 starts a year ago, and Kengott and Brad Hudson added 37 more. The five returning outfielders combined to steal 57 bases last year.

Added to that group is Will LaRue, the nation's top returning base stealer. He came to SIU as a graduate transfer for his senior season after being a starter on back-to-back NCAA Regional finalist teams at Xavier.

SIU's depth continues with Brady Michel and Evan Martin. Michel was a middle-of-the-order bat on one of the top junior college teams in the nation last year, and Martin is an exciting left-handed hitting freshman.

"As most people know, our club is built on speed, and this group of outfielders is the fastest we've had," Henderson said. "There is a good mix of left-handed and right-handed bats; but most importantly, they will be able to run balls down in the outfield and should continue our trend of being aggressive on the bases."

CATCHERS

Austin Ulick returns to SIU after starting 42 games as a sophomore in 2018. Ulick is joined by two newcomers, fifth year seniors Colin Butkiewicz and Aiden McMahan. Butkiewicz is a transfer from Western Kentucky, where he started 40 games last year. McMahan, a Wolf Lake, Ill., native, played at Rend Lake and SEMO before transferring to the Salukis. Both are eligible to play immediately.

"I don't recall ever going into a season with three catchers that could all be every day players," Henderson said. "They are all talented defensively, but also each of them bring something different offensively; Ulick is a right-handed hitter, McMahan is left handed and Buck is a switch hitter."

SCHEDULE

The Salukis open the season on February 15 at Nicholls. SIU has 29 home games scheduled at Itchy Jones Stadium, starting with the home opener on March 1 against Western Illinois. Southern Illinois hosts both Missouri State and Dallas Baptist at Itchy Jones Stadium in Missouri Valley Conference play.

The non-conference schedule includes challenging road weekend series at Illinois and Butler. The Illini will return to Carbondale for a mid-week game on April 30. Fifteen of the team's final 21 home games will be broadcast nationally by The Valley on ESPN.

"This schedule will give our players an opportunity to learn to compete on the road, and our fans a chance to see some really good baseball at home in Itchy Jones Stadium," Henderson said.

COACHES

Head coach Ken Henderson is entering his ninth year as the head coach of the Salukis and 29th year with the program. After leading the nation's biggest turnaround from 2015 to 2016, Henderson has led SIU to 86 wins over the past three years.

Associate head coach P.J. Finigan, who was inducted into the SIU Hall of Fame this fall as a former player, is also in his ninth year as the program's pitching coach. Finigan quickly has turned SIU's pitching into some of the program's best in the last 30 years, coaching seven MLB Draft picks and 16 All-MVC pitchers.

Seth LaRue enters his third season at SIU and is the architect of SIU's renewed offensive aggressiveness. Under LaRue, SIU has stolen 231 bases over the last two years, more than 100 better than any team in the league.

Adam Core enters his first year as the program's volunteer assistant and will coach catchers, and Adam Harris is the program's first graduate assistant, leading the program's analytics and operations. Ryan Netemeyer, who closed his playing career with the second-most saves of anyone in the history of the MVC, will be a student assistant and help coach pitchers.

Season tickets are on sale now by calling 877-SALUKIS or by visiting SIUSalukis.com/tickets. Stay up-to-date with Saluki Baseball by following the team on Twitter @SIU Baseball, Instagram @SIU_Baseball, and Facebook at Saluki Baseball.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Philip Archer

Blake Begner

Logan Blackfan

Henry Boeckmann

Colin Butkiewicz

Kenton Crawford

Matt DeSomer

Grey Epps

Noah Farmer

Addison Fugitt

Dylan Givens

Sam Grace

Alex Gutermuth

Brad Harrison

Hunter Hart

Mason Hiser

Brad Hudson

Connor Kopach

Will LaRue

Alex Lyon

Evan Martin

Trey McDaniel

Aiden McMahan

Brady Michel

Corey Mitson

Ryan Netemeyer

Matthew Steidl

Austin Ulick

Nikola Vasic

Ian Walters

J.T. Weber

Justin Yeager

Scoreboard

Upcoming Events