SIU faces #29 Illini in road weekend series

Saturday, March 16

Champaign, Ill.

12 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

Illinois

Photo by: Tom Weber

03/15/2019 | 5:50:00 | Baseball

Southern Illinois (10-5) at #29 Illinois (10-3) // March 16-17, 2019 // Champaign, Ill. (Illinois Field) // SIU Game Notes PDF

Southern Illinois travels to No. 29 Illinois for a three-game series in Champaign this weekend. The weekend schedule was adjusted due to weather; the teams will now play a noon doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. A subscription is required for video on BTN Plus, and free audio is available on SIUSalukis.com and the TuneIn radio app.

Game 1 - Saturday, March 16 - 12 p.m. // VIdeo ($) | Audio (or on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU LHP Brad Harrison (2-1, 2.08 ERA, 26.0 IP)
ILL LHP Andy Fisher (2-1, 3.52 ERA, 23.0 IP)

Game 2 - Saturday, March 16 - 3 p.m. // VIdeo ($) | Audio (or on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU RHP Dylan Givens (2-1, 2.59 ERA, 24.1 IP)
ILL RHP Ty Weber (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 15.0 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, March 17 - 1 p.m. // VIdeo ($) | Audio (or on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU LHP Blake Begner (2-1, 4.26 ERA, 19.0 IP)
ILL RHP Cyrillo Watson (2-0, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois visits No. 29 Illinois for a three-game series in Champaign. The series schedule has been modified to a noon doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Salukis are 9-2 in the last 11 games and have won three-straight.
The all-time series is tied, 39-39. Illinois won three of four last year. The Salukis won two of three in 2016 and 2017. The teams are 5-5 in their last 10 meetings.
In the last 11 games, SIU's pitching staff has held opponents to one run six times.
SIU ranks third in the NCAA in stolen bases per game (3.13) and fifth in total stolen bases (47). SIU stole nine bases against Southeast Missouri (March 6), which is tied for the third-highest single-game total in the nation this year. In that game, Ian Walters tied teammate Alex Lyon's school record of four stolen bases in a game.
Will LaRue is the NCAA's active leader in career stolen bases (79). He is 12-for-12 stealing this year, one of five players in the nation with 12+ steals without being caught. Overall, his 12 stolen bases rank 11th nationally.
In the last seven games, SIU is 27-for-29 stealing bases (93.1 percent).
In MVC terms: SIU (47) has more stolen bases than Valpo, Bradley, Indiana State, Evansville and Missouri State combined. In Big Ten terms, SIU has more stolen bases than Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern combined. Will LaRue has more stolen bases individually than nine of the 13 Big Ten teams as a whole.
SIU players rank 1-3-4-6-7 in the MVC in stolen bases: LaRue (1st, 12), Nikola Vasic (3rd, 9), Ian Walters (4th, 8), Addison Fugitt (6th, 6), and Brad Hudson (7th, 5).
SIU's starting pitchers (including mid-weeks) have a 2.81 ERA and a .202 opposing batting average. Opponents are slugging just .296 against SIU's starters. Overall, SIU's pitching staff ranks 37th nationally in WHIP (1.24) and 40th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.41).
Ian Walters leads the nation in sacrifice flies (5). As a team, SIU ranks fifth nationally in sac flies (13).
Trey McDaniel ranks ninth nationally with five saves.
Dawg Bites: SIU has scored 29 percent of its runs (25/87) in the eighth inning ... SIU is outscoring opponents 38-15 in the first three innings ... SIU is 10-0 when leading after eight innings ... SIU is 7-0 when Colin Butkiewicz is the starting catcher ... Grey Epps has an active 10-game reached base streak. Epps is hitting .353 in the last 10 games.

SALUKIS VS. ILLINI

SIU travels to Champaign to take on No. 29-ranked Illinois for a three-game series.
Illinois won three of four against SIU last year. The Salukis took two of three from Illinois in both 2016 and 2017. The programs are 5-5 in their last 10 meetings.
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb is an SIU alumnus and played for Itchy Jones at SIU.
Former SIU head coach Itchy Jones, for whom SIU's stadium is named, also coached at Illinois and won 474 games for the Illini.
When Itchy Jones Stadium was dedicated in 2014, the first-ever series at the new park was against Illinois. The Illini won the first game, but the Salukis won the series.
SIU associate head coach PJ Finigan played one career game against Illinois and went 3-for-4. That game was in 2005, Itchy Jones' final season as head coach at Illinois.
SIU has five wins against ranked opponents over the past three seasons, which includes two wins over ranked Illinois teams. SIU beat ranked Illini squads in 2015 and 2018. This year, Illinois is ranked #29 by Collegiate Baseball and is the first ranked opponent SIU has faced in 2019.

MVC LEADERS