Salukis visit SEMO on Tuesday

Tuesday, April 16

Cape Girardeau, MO

5 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

Southeast Missouri State University

Photo by: Will Becque

04/15/2019 | 2:41:00 | Softball

Game Notes

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University softball team plays its final road mid-week game of the 2019 season Tuesday, as the Salukis travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to take on the SEMO Redhawks. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

All-time vs. SEMO

• SIU leads the all-time series 70-23-1 in a rivalry that dates back to 1976.
• Southern is 22-10-1 at SEMO.
• The Salukis are 23-3 all-time against the Redhawks under 20th-year head coach Kerri Blaylock.
• Southern has won three-straight over the Redhawks.
• The last four meetings between the two programs have been decided by two runs or fewer, including three games that have been decided by one run.

Scouting SEMO

• The Redhawks are 31-10 on the season and have won three of their last four games heading into Tuesday's tilt.
• SEMO is 3-4 this season against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
• As a team, the Redhawks are hitting .320- which is tops in the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 17th nationally.
• SEMO also ranks top-25 nationally in runs scored (23rd, 6.17), slugging percentage (20th, .528) and triples per game (5th, .41).
• Rachel Anderson leads the OVC, and ranks second nationally, with a .488 batting average.
• Anderson's 69 hits this season are the ninth-most in the NCAA this season and she ranks top-15 nationally in both on-base percentage (8th, .571) and slugging percentage (11th. .917).

Active Salukis vs. the Redhawks

• Susie Baranski is a lifetime .500 (4-for-8) hitter against the Redhawks, which included going 3-for-4 in SIU's 3-1 win at SEMO on April 12, 2017.
• Brianna Jones is 2-0 with a save in three appearances in the circle vs. SEMO. The senior flamethrower has given up just three hits in six and two-third innings of work against the Redhawks, which includes 10 strikeouts to just one walk.

Breaking out the Brooms

• The Salukis completed the three-game sweep of the Indiana State Sycamores over the weekend, which marked SIU's first three-game sweep of Indiana State since 2011.
• Southern outscored Indiana State, 20-5 in the three-game sweep and hit at a healthy .363 clip for the weekend.

Tied the Mark

• Brianna Jones went four innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits to earn the win in SIU's 10-4 victory over Indiana State.
• With the win, Jones improved to 17-6 on the season and she moved into a tie with Amy Harre for the most career wins in Saluki history with 84.
• She also became the sixth Saluki pitcher in program history with 600 strikeouts.

Crossing the Plate

• Susie Baranski scored her 91st career run in the sweep over Indiana State to crack the top-25 in school history.
• Baranski is tied with Krystal Stein (2005-08) for the 25th-most runs scored in program history.
• The junior slap hitter needs to score just nine runs to become the 19th Saluki to reach the century mark in runs scored.

Getting On Base

• The Salukis lead the Missouri Valley Conference, and rank 20th nationally, with a .408 on-base percentage.
• Southern last led the league in on-base percentage in 2014 and 2012 was the last season in which SIU finished with a .400 or better on-base percentage.
• 10 Salukis currently have .400 or better on-base percentages, led Maddy Vermejan, who has a .480 on-base percentage.

A full PDF of SIU's game notes vs. SEMO are available here.