SIU visits Indiana State in Terre Haute

Friday, April 26

Terre Haute, Ind.

5:30 p.m. CT

Southern Illinois University

Indiana State

04/25/2019 | 8:19:00 | Baseball

Southern Illinois (17-19, 1-8 MVC) at Indiana State (29-9, 6-3 MVC) // April 26-28, 2019 // Terre Haute, Ind. (Bob Warn Field) // SIU Game Notes PDF

Southern Illinois visits Indiana State for a three-game series in Terre Haute. First pitch on Friday is set for 5:30 p.m. CT. The Salukis are trying to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Game 1 - Friday, April 26 - 5:30 p.m. CT // ESPN3 | Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats | Twitter

SIU RHP Mason Hiser (3-2, 5.08 ERA, 44.1 IP)
INS LHP Triston Polley (5-0, 1.92 ERA, 65.2 IP)

Game 2 - Saturday, April 27 - 1 p.m. CT // ESPN3 | Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats | Twitter

SIU RHP Dylan Givens (3-5, 6.14 ERA, 55.2 IP)
INS RHP Collin Liberatore (7-0, 2.11 ERA, 64.0 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, April 28 - 12 p.m. CT // ESPN3 | Audio (also on TuneIn) | Live Stats | Twitter

SIU LHP Blake Begner (3-5, 6.43 ERA, 42.0 IP)
INS RHP Tyler Whitbread (5-1, 2.98 ERA, 48.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois travels to Indiana State for a three-game series against the Sycamores. All three games will be streamed nationally on ESPN3.
An upcoming giveaway at Itchy Jones Stadium:
- April 30 vs. Illinois - 100 free t-shirts with the new SIU athletics logo
Ten of SIU's final 15 regular season games are against top-50 RPI teams. The Sycamores are No. 40 in the RPI.
The series is SIU's second-to-last road trip of the year. After the series, nine of Southern's final 12 games are at Itchy Jones Stadium, with the lone exception coming at Valpo May 10-12.
Alex Lyon went 8-for-21 (.381) against Indiana State last year with a double and two home runs. Due to NCAA rules, Lyon will miss the opener due to his ejection in SIU's last game, Sunday vs. Illinois State.
Southern Illinois ranks fifth in the nation in stolen bases per game (2.75) and seventh nationally in total stolen bases (99).
SIU players have four of the top six spots in the MVC in stolen bases. Nikola Vasic is second, Will LaRue is third, Addison Fugitt is fifth, and Ian Walters is sixth.
SIU ranks 15th nationally and leads the MVC in sacrifice flies with 25. Ian Walters ranks fourth in the nation in sac flies with seven.
Matt DeSomer has six-straight appearances without allowing an earned run and has not given up a hit in his last 6.1 innings pitched. DeSomer has a 0.00 ERA in his last 9.2 innings and pitched four perfect innings last week vs. Illinois State.
Nikola Vasic has eight multi-hit games in the last 21 games.
Trey McDaniel leads the MVC and ranks 16th in the nation with nine saves.
Dawg Bites: SIU is outscoring opponents 54-30 in the first two innings. The Salukis are 12-5 when they score first ... SIU is 16-2 when tied or leading after six innings ... SIU is 5-2 in its last seven one-run games ... SIU is 14-2 when it out-hits an opponent or is tied in hits ... SIU has had five games canceled due to weather and played five doubleheaders. SIU will play a maximum of 51 regular season games this year, the fewest for the program since 2009 (49) ... Vasic, Archer and Fugitt all have active 4-game hitting streaks ... Will LaRue's six-game reached streak is the longest active streak on the team and his longest of the season.

SALUKIS VS. SYCAMORES

Southern Illinois travels to Indiana State for a three-game series in Terre Haute.
Alex Lyon went 8-for-21 (.381) against Indiana State last year with a double and two home runs. Due to NCAA rules, Lyon will miss the opener due to his ejection in SIU's last game, Sunday vs. Illinois State.
The Salukis have won the series opener against Indiana State in five-consecutive seasons. The Sycamores have rebounded to win the series four times in that stretch.
The teams played five times last year, including twice in the MVC Tournament. Indiana State won both MVC Tournament games on walk-off home runs.
SIU's last series win over Indiana State was also its last series win in Terre Haute. The Salukis took two of three in 2015.

MVC LEADERS

Team in sac flies (25)
Team in triples (24)
Team in stolen bases (99)
Team in least doubles allowed (48)
Ian Walters in sac flies (7)
Trey McDaniel in saves (9)

RUN WITH US

"As much as anything, I think it has helped our mentality. We have become a much more aggressive team, in terms of how we approach the practices and games. It's been great for the identity of the team." - SIU hitting coach Seth LaRue
SIU has stolen 99 bases this year, which leads the MVC by 42.
Will LaRue has stolen 84 career bases, which ranks third in the NCAA among active players. Last season, SIU shortstop Connor Kopach spent the year as the NCAA's active career stolen base leader.
Since the start of the 2017 season, SIU has stolen 330 bases, which is third-most in the nation in that span. In the MVC, Dallas Baptist is second in the league in that span (179), trailing SIU by 151 bags.
Trend setters? Since SIU started its current aggressive base-stealing style in 2017, the other seven teams in the MVC have stolen 40 percent more bases.
SIU players have four of the top six spots in the MVC in stolen bases. Nikola Vasic is second, Will LaRue is third, Addison Fugitt is fifth, and Ian Walters is sixth.

TWO-SPORT STAR MATT DESOMER EMERGES

SIU relief pitcher Matt DeSomer was a member of the Saluki Football team for the last five years.
DeSomer was a dual-sport athlete in high school before ultimately choosing to play football in college, but he was a strong pitcher and was seen by SIU associate head coach PJ Finigan.
DeSomer was a do-everything player for the Saluki Football team, playing quarterback, wide receiver, safety, and punt returner during his career. He ended his senior season (2018) as the team's starting quarterback.
DeSomer's football career stats: 2,146 yards total offense, 958 rushing yards, 110 receiving yards, 1,188 passing yards, nine tackles, eight punt returns and one kick return.
DeSomer graduates from SIU in May 2019 and decided to join the baseball team for his final semester of school. NCAA rules permit student-athletes to play a fifth season if it's in a different sport.
DeSomer had an oustanding game for Saluki Football against Indiana State this year: He went 16-for-21 for 165 yards and a touchdown; and he ran for 135 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. (300 yards total offense, 2 TDs)
DeSomer and Cal's Brandon McIlwain are the only two starting quarterbacks in Division I who also play baseball.
DeSomer's baseball career got off to a rocky start, allowing seven earned runs over his first three appearances (1.2 IP). Since then, he has not allowed any earned runs over six appearances (9.2 IP).
- 1st 3 app: 1.2 IP, 7H, 8R, 7ER, 6K, 3BB
- Since (6 app): 9.2 IP, 4H, 2R, 0ER, 9K, 6BB
DeSomer hasn't allowed a hit in his last 6.1 innings.
In MVC play, DeSomer has a 0.00 ERA over 6.2 innings with six strikeouts.