Salukis host Braves for critical home series

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University softball team hosts the Bradley Braves for a critical home series to close out the 2019 regular-season. Southern can clinch the No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament and a double-bye through the first two rounds with a win over Bradley in its three-game set. Sunday is Senior Day, and the Salukis will honor their two seniors, Brianna Jones and Jordan Spicer, after the game. With inclement weather in the forecast for much of Saturday, fans are encouraged to continue to check SIUSalukis.com to stay abreast of schedule changes and updates.

All-time vs. Bradley

• The Salukis hold a commanding 71-28 all-time record over the Bradley Braves in series that dates back to 1982.
• Southern took two of three at Bradley a year ago to win the season series.
• The Salukis have won six-straight series from the Braves, with Bradley's last series win coming in 2012.
• SIU's last sweep of Bradley came in Peoria in 2016, while its last sweep at home against the Braves came in 2015.
• Since 2013, Southern is 15-3 against Bradley and the Salukis are 46-11 versus the Braves under head coach Kerri Blaylock.

Current Salukis vs. the Braves

• In last season's 18-14 win at Bradley, Maddy Vermejan went 3-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI- which tied the school record for runs batted in in a single game.
• Vermejan is a career .471 (8-for-17) hitter with a 1.176 slugging percentage in six career games against the Braves. In last season's series win at Bradley, all six of Vermejan's hits went for extra bases- she finished with three doubles and three home runs.
• Jenny Jansen hit .400 (4-for-10) last season in three games against the Braves. She finished with a double, three walks and a RBI.
• Katelyn Massa is a lifetime .474 (9-for-19) hitter with a .895 slugging percentage in six career games against Bradley. Four of Massa's nine hits went for extra bases, including two home runs. She also tallied four walks and five RBI.
• Kyleigh Decker joins Vermejan and Massa as active Salukis who have gone deep against the Braves.
• Brianna Jones is 5-0 with a 3.11 ERA in 36 career innings against the Braves. Jones has appeared in the circle in eight of SIU's nine games against Bradley during her career and has given up just 16 earned runs. She has struck out 22 Braves and given up just eight extra-base hits.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

• Due to several weather-related cancellations this spring, SIU will play just 45 total games during the 2019 regular season.
• It will be the fewest regular season games for the Salukis since the 2009 season when SIU played 45 games and went 33-12.
• It will also be tied for the second-fewest regular season games during Coach Blaylock's 20 seasons as SIU's skipper. The 2006 Salukis got in just 43 regular season games but went 34-9 to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• Southern played just 45 regular season games during both the 2003 and 2009 seasons.

Winning in Conference play

• Southern is 10 games above .500 (15-5) in league play this season 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.
• Southern won 17 conference games in 2017, which was tied for the most MVC wins by the Salukis since 2005. The 2005 Salukis went 24-3 in conference play en route to a NCAA Regional bid.

Seeding for Conference Tourney

• With a win over Bradley during its three-game series, SIU can clinch the two-seed in next weekend's MVC Tournament in Peoria, Ill.
• Southern has been the two-seed five times in program history- most recently in 2009.
• It would also be SIU's highest seed at the conference tournament since 2010- when the Salukis earned the No. 1 seed. In 2010, the Salukis advanced to the MVC Tournament Championship game, where they lost a heartbreaker to Creighton, 3-2.
• A top-two seed would give SIU a double-bye through the first two rounds of the conference tournament.

For a complete set of game notes (PDF) click here.

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Players Mentioned

Kyleigh Decker

Jenny Jansen

Brianna Jones

Katelyn Massa

Jordan Spicer

Maddy Vermejan

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