Salukis head to Evanston Regional

The Southern Illinois University softball team is set to open NCAA postseason play at the Evanston Regional on Friday, May 17 when they take on the Louisville Cardinals at Noon at Northwestern's Sharon Drysdale Field.

Ways to follow along

SIU's game against Louisville will be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans locally can tune into Magic 95.1 FM to listen to the game, with play-by-play announcer Bryce Williams on the call beginning at 11:50 a.m. Fans can also stream the audio on SIUSalukis.com/allaccess

Evanston Regional Schedule

DATES: May 17-19, 2019
LOCATION: Evanston, Ill.
VENUE: Sharon Drysdale Field
TELEVISION: ESPN3
ANNOUNCERS: Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play), Jennie Ritter (analysis)

Friday, May 17
Game 1: Louisville (33-21) vs. Southern Illinois (33-13), 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 2: (16) Northwestern (43-10) vs. Detroit Mercy (31-26), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Saturday, May 18
Game 3: Louisville-Southern Illinois winner vs. (16) Northwestern-Detroit Mercy winner, 2 p.m. (TBD)
Game 4: Louisville-Southern Illinois loser vs. (16) Northwestern-Detroit Mercy loser, 4:30 p.m. (TBD)
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. (TBD)

Sunday, May 19
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m. (TBD)
Game 7: Repeat Game 6 (if necessary), 4:30 p.m. (TBD)

All-time at NCAA Tournament

This marks SIU's 12th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. Four of those appearances (1970, 1971, 1977, 1978) came during the days of the AIAW.
This will be SIU's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Kerri Blaylock and the sixth time that Southern has earned an at-large bid.
Southern made five-straight NCAA Regional appearances from 2003-07.
SIU has won at least one game at five of its six NCAA Tournament Appearances under Blaylock and have amassed a 9-12 overall record in those six appearances.
Southern's eight appearances since 1982 are the second-most (to Illinois State) of active Valley schools while their nine wins are second to the Redbirds for most among active MVC programs.
SIU is one of two teams in Valley history to win three games at a NCAA Regional. The Salukis went 3-2 at both the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Tournaments, which is tied with Creighton (2004) for the most wins at a NCAA Regional in Valley history.

All-time vs. Louisville

The Salukis are 1-0 all-time against the Cardinals.
SIU won, 1-0, on March 4, 2000 at the Southern Classic behind a shutout from Carisa Winters.
Southern's only hit, and run, came from home run off the bat of Erin Stremsterfer.
The Salukis hold a 15-21 all-time record against current ACC foes.
Southern's last win over an ACC program came on Feb. 25, 2007 - a 4-1 win over Florida State behind a three-hitter from Ashley Hamby to close out the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Southern went 4-1 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in 2007 with 3-2 wins over ACC foe North Carolina and Auburn.

All-time vs. Detroit Mercy

The Salukis are 1-0 all-time against the Titans.
Southern defeated Detroit Mercy, 2-1 on April 10, 1993 at the Western Illinois Tournament.
In the win over the Titans, Angie Mick got the win after she threw four and a third inning and helped limit Detroit Mercy to just four hits.
The Salukis hold an 18-4 all-time record against current Horizon League teams.
SIU's last win over a Horizon League foe came on Feb. 23, 2018- a 6-3 win over Wright State at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational.

All-time vs. Northwestern

SIU is 2-5 all-time against Northwestern.
Southern is 0-2 against Northwestern when they are nationally ranked, which includes a 4-0 loss to the No. 11 Wildcats in the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Evanston, Ill.
The Salukis last defeated the Wildcats on May 5, 1979- a 5-4 win in the AIAW State Tournament in Carbondale, Ill.
SIU is 47-59-1 all-time against current Big 10 opponents.
Southern's last win over a Big 10 foe came during the 2017 season- a 4-2 win over Michigan State on Feb. 18, 2017 at the Eastern Michigan Tournament in Maderia Beach, Fla.

Current Salukis at the NCAA Tournaments

Five current Salukis (Susie Baranski, Maddy Vermejan, Katelyn Massa, Kyleigh Decker, Brianna Jones) played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Oxford, Miss.
Vermejan (four AB), Baranski (five AB) and Massa (five AB) each finished with a single in the two games. Baranski added a walk while Decker struck out in her only plate appearance.
Jones took the loss against Ole Miss in the SIU's tournament opener. The four-time All-MVC selection went four and a third inning, allowed eight runs on eight hits and struck out two.

Body of Work

SIU will make its second NCAA Regional appearance in three years after a regular season in which it finished with a No. 42 RPI, tallied a Top-25 win (over Drake), three top-50 wins (San Jose State, North Dakota State, Mississippi State) and 12 total top-100 wins.
Defensively, the Salukis rank third nationally in fielding percentage and set a program record for fewest errors committed (25) in a single-season.
Southern also set the school record for on-base percentage (.403), led the league in batting average for the first time since 2006 and posted 17 conference wins, tied for their most since 2005.
Southern also reached the 30-win plateau for the 17th time in Blaylock's 20 seasons as head coach.

Against the 2019 Tournament Field

Southern posted a 4-3 record against teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament field with wins over Drake, North Dakota State, Mississippi State and SEMO.

All-conference honors

The Salukis tallied six All-MVC accolades, an All-Defensive team honor and junior catcher Katelyn Massa was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year while first-year shortstop Ashley Wood was named MVC Freshman of the Year.
Massa, second baseman Maddy Vermejan, outfielder Jenny Jansen and pitcher Brianna Jones claimed spots on the All-MVC First Team, while Wood and designated player Jordan Spicer earned All-MVC Second Team recognition.
The Salukis have had at least five earn all-conference honors in four-straight seasons and their six selections are tied for the second-most in head coach Kerri Blaylock's 20 seasons at the helm. Only the 2005 Salukis (8) had more honorees.

MVC Defensive Player of the Year

Katelyn Massa is the second-straight Saluki to win MVC Defensive Player of the Year, as Maddy Vermejan took home the award last season.
SIU is the first program to win back-to-back MVC Defensive Player of the Year awards since the league began handing out the honor in 2015.
Massa was also honored on the MVC All-Defensive Team.
She committed just one error and threw out six of the 17 runners that attempted to steal on her. She was a big reason why SIU held opponents to just 21 stolen bases- the fewest allowed in the MVC.

MVC Freshman of the Year

Ashley Wood is the fifth Saluki, and first since 2003, to win the MVC Freshman of the Year award.
Also earned a spot on the All-MVC Second Team.
Has had one of the best freshman seasons in program history as she led all Valley freshmen in home runs (9), RBI (44), batting average (.352), on-base percentage (.419) and slugging percentage (.599) and ranks second in the league among first-years in total bases (85), runs scored (29) and hits (50).
Her .352 batting average is the fourth-best for a freshman in program history while her 44 RBI are the third-most by a Saluki first-year.

Jansen earns first team nod

Jansen earned her second-straight All-MVC nod after she finished top-10 in the MVC in six statistical categories including fourth in total bases (91), fifth in doubles (12), sixth in batting average (.393), tied for seventh in RBI (40), tied for eighth in hits (59) and ninth in slugging percentage (.607).
Tallied 20 multi-hit games- which are the most by a Saluki since at least 2003.
Her .393 batting average is the eighth-best in a single-season in program history.

Sure-handed at Second Base

Maddy Vermejan was named to the All-MVC First Team after she tied for the league-lead in fielding percentage.
She is the only second baseman nationally to not record an error
The Lemont, Ill. native led the MVC in hit by pitches and finished fourth in runs scored, fifth in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in walks.
The right-handed hitter hit .315 with a team-best .485 on-base percentage and was even better against Valley opponents.
Vermejan slashed .413/.683/.580 with four home runs and five doubles in SIU's 23 league games.
Her .580 on-base percentage in conference games was the best in the Valley.

Four-Straight First Team Selections

Brianna Jones was named to the All-MVC First Team for the fourth-straight season.
She joins Amy Harre and Shelly Gibbs as the only players in program history to earn four First-Team selections.
Jones was again superb in the circle, as she went 23-9 with a 2.03 ERA in 182.1 innings of work. The senior hurler tallied four shutouts, four saves and 133 strikeouts during a season in which she became SIU's all-time leader in wins, appearances and innings pitched.

First Time in her last go-around

Jordan Spicer earned her first career all-conference honor after she claimed a spot on the All-MVC Second Team.
The Hendersonville, Tenn. native had the best season of her Saluki career, as she hit .293 with a double, seven home runs and 10 driven in.
The right-handed designated player did significant damage at the dish in MVC play, as she sported a .727 slugging percentage with six home runs and 14 RBI in league play.

MVC Scholar-Athletes

Five Salukis were selected to Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete teams.
Jenny Jansen, Katelyn Massa, Jordan Spicer and Maddy Vermejan earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors while Megan Brown was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention team.
Southern's five total honorees were tied with Drake for the most of any Valley school.

Leading the League

The Salukis ended the 2019 regular season as the league leaders in several statistical categories.
- Batting Average - .305
- On-Base Percentage - .403
- Sacrifice Bunts - 45
- Sacrifice Flies - 14
- Saves - 7
- Fewest Walks Issued - 94
- Fielding Percentage - .981
- Fewest Errors - 25
- Fewest Stolen Bases Against - 21

In Conference-Only Games:
- Batting Average - .314
- Hit by pitches - 25
- Sacrifice Bunts - 27
- Fielding Percentage - .985
- Fewest Errors - 10

Winning in Conference play

Southern ends the 2019 regular season 11 games above .500 (17-6) in league play to secure its 24th-straight season with a .500 or better record in conference play in a streak that dates back to 1995.
The Salukis have won 15-plus conference games in five of the last six years and this season, the Salukis won 17 conference games, which is tied for their most MVC wins since 2005.

Getting On Base

The Salukis lead the Missouri Valley Conference, and rank 20th nationally, with a .403 on-base percentage.
Southern last led the league in on-base percentage in 2014 and 2012 was the last, and only time, in which SIU finished a season with a .400 or better on-base percentage.
SIU broke the school record for on-base percentage, besting the previous record of .402, set in 2012.
Six Salukis currently have .400 or better on-base percentages, led by Maddy Vermejan, who has a .485 on-base percentage.

Raking at the Dish

The Salukis lead the Valley, and rank 36th nationally, with a .305 batting average.
SIU has led the conference in batting average five times, most recently in 2006.
Southern hit over .300 as a team for just the third time in program history. In 1993, SIU hit .301 while the following year, Southern hit a school-record .315.
Five of SIU's hitters have batting averages over .300, led by Jenny Jansen's .393 average.

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Players Mentioned

Susie Baranski

Megan Brown

Kyleigh Decker

Jenny Jansen

Brianna Jones

Katelyn Massa

Jordan Spicer

Maddy Vermejan

Ashley Wood

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