Baseball hosts Murray State for home opener

The Southern Illinois baseball team hosts Murray State for its first home game of the 2020 season. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Itchy Jones Stadium.

PROBABLE STARTERS

SIU RHP Mitchell Jackson (0-1, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP)
MSU RHP Joe Ivey (0-1, 9.53 ERA, 5.2 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern's home opener against Murray State is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. Live stats will be available on SIUSalukis.com/baseball/schedule.
The mid-week game was originally scheduled to be played in Murray, Ky., but was moved to Itchy Jones Stadium.
Freshman Mitchell Jackson will make his first-career start on the mound. He is 0-1 with a 1.59 earned run average in 5.2 innings through three appearances this season. He has recorded six punchouts and limited opponents to a .190 batting average.
SIU leads the overall series versus MSU, 48-20. The Salukis hold a 28-7 advantage at home. The SIU offense has averaged 12.8 runs per game in its last five games against the Racers.
SIU was 10-2 in mid-week games last season. Southern lost 4-3 against Belmont (2/18) in its first mid-week of 2020.
The Salukis are coming off a 1-2 showing against top-tier teams at the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament. Standout pitching performances by Brad Harrison (5.0 IP, 0ER) and Trey McDaniel (3.2 IP, 0ER) led to a 3-1 victory over USC. It was SIU's first regular-season win in program history over the Pac-12 opponent. Southern hung tough in a 6-5 loss to No. 18 Arizona. The Salukis led 5-1 at one point, but the Wildcats scored five unanswered runs to take the ballgame, 6-5.
Southern is 0-3 in one-run games. In games decided by two or more runs, SIU is 4-1.
The Salukis rank seventh nationally in stolen bases with 18. Addison Fugitt and J.T. Weber have each stole a MVC-best four bags. Last season, SIU was fifth nationally with a school record 144 steals.
SIU relief pitchers Matthew Steidl and McDaniel have allowed no runs in a combined 17.1 innings. McDaniel holds a team-low WHIP of .83 and has struck out six in his last 3.2 innings. Steidl ranks second nationally in appearances (5) and has pitched two-plus scoreless innings three times.
Improved offense: The Salukis are among the MVC's leaders in several offensive categories. SIU ranks first in on-base percentage (.382), hits (66) and runs (45). Southern ranks second in the league in batting average (.250) and doubles (14).
Senior infielders Ian Walters and Nick Neville continue to lead the SIU offense. Neville has reached base in all eight starts and has tallied multiple hits four times. He leads the team in batting (.385) and hits (14). Walters has doubled a league-leading five times and is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak. He leads SIU in slugging (.516), doubles (5) and RBI (7).
Improved defense: SIU leads the Valley in fielding percentage (.983) and has committed just one error in its last five games The defense has turned seven double plays, which is 18th in the nation.

MVC LEADERS

Team in fielding percentage (.983)
Team in on-base percentage (.382)
Team in hits (66)
Team in runs scored (45)
Team in walks (41)
Team in stolen bases (18)
Team in hit by pitch (17)
Nick Neville in hits (14)
Ian Walters in doubles (5)
Addison Fugitt & J.T. Weber in stolen bases (4)
Matthew Steidl in ERA (0.00)

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Players Mentioned

Addison Fugitt

Brad Harrison

Mitchell Jackson

Trey McDaniel

Nick Neville

Matthew Steidl

Ian Walters

J.T. Weber

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