SIU starts road swing at Butler

Friday, March 29

Indianapolis, Ind.

2 p.m. CT

Southern Illinois University

Butler

03/28/2019 | 5:54:00 | Baseball

Southern Illinois (14-9) at Butler (15-9) // March 29-31 // Indianapolis, Ind. (Bulldog Park) // SIU Game Notes PDF

The Southern Illinois baseball program starts a swing of nine road games in its next 12 games with a three-game series at Butler.

Schedule Notes » Due to impending weather, the start times for the first two games have been adjusted. SIU-Butler will play at 2 p.m. CT on Friday and 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, instead of the regularly scheduled times of 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. Due to the weather, there is a possibility that Saturday's game is moved to Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. Follow @SIU_Baseball on Twitter for schedule updates.

Game 1 - Friday, March 20 // Facebook Live | Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU RHP Dylan Givens (3-1, 3.47 ERA, 36.1 IP)
BUT RHP Ryan Pepiot (3-2, 2.29 ERA, 35.1 IP)

Game 2 - Saturday, March 30 // Facebook Live | Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU LHP Brad Harrison (2-1, 2.45 ERA, 33.0 IP)
BUT RHP Sam Hubbe (3-1, 2.25 ERA, 28.0 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, March 31 // Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats

SIU LHP Blake Begner (2-3, 5.97 ERA, 28.2 IP)
BUT RHP Connor Schultz (4-0, 1.49 ERA, 36.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois hits the road for a three-game series at Butler. SIU has played 13 of its last 16 games at Itchy Jones Stadium, going 11-2 at home. Now, SIU played nine of its next 12 games on the road, starting with the Butler series.
Statistically, Butler is one of the most impressive teams in the country. The Bulldogs rank seventh nationally in ERA and 32nd in scoring. They rank in the top-100 in 23 of the 30 statistical categories on NCAA.org.
On the mound, Butler is led by Ryan Pepiot, a top-150 prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft. Pepiot ranks sixth in the NCAA in strikeouts with 56. Offensively, Butler is led by Kyle Smith and Harrison Freed. Smith ranks ninth nationally in HBP, 19th in home runs, and 20th in runs scored. Freed ranks ninth in hits, 22nd in RBIs, ninth in total bases. Both rank in the top-25 in slugging percentage.
SIU ranks fourth nationally in stolen bases (70) and third in stolen bases per game (3.04).
Ian Walters is second in the NCAA with 6 sacrifice flies. As a team, SIU ranks second in the nation with 20 sac flies.
Brad Harrison, who missed last week's start with arm fatigue, is expected to return and start Saturday's game.
Trey McDaniel ranks seventh nationally with seven saves.
Dawg Bites: Grey Epps has reached base in 18-straight games, the longest streak for any SIU player this year ... Mason Hiser's walk rate (1.9%) is 10th-best in the nation and leads the MVC ... SIU is 13-3 in its last 16 games against unranked opponents ... SIU is outscoring opponents 37-12 in the first two innings ... The Missouri Valley Conference is the nation's fifth-highest rated conference in RPI, ahead of the Big Ten, Mountain West, Big West, etc. The only leagues ahead of the MVC are the SEC, Big 12, Pac 12 and ACC ... Dating back to the end of last season, SIU is 13-2 in its last 11 home games ... SIU is 11-2 at home this year, which is the best home start for the program since 2007.