Southern Illinois University
Austin Peay State University
Salukis to host Coach B Classic
02/25/2021 | 4:15:00 | Softball
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History hosting the Coach B Classic
• The 2021 edition of the Coach B Classic marks the 18th season that Southern has hosted the early season tournament in honor of former head coach Kay Brechtelsbauer. Dr. Brechtelsbauer was inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame in 1994 and amassed a 633-438-2 record in 32 seasons at the helm, which included five NCAA Tournament appearances.Â
• The 2002, 2003 and 2015 editions of tournament were canceled due to weather while the 2019 tournament was moved to Chattanooga.
• SIU is 47-21 (.691) all-time at the Coach B Classic after it went 5-0 at the Coach B Classic a year ago.
Home Opener
• SIU will open the home portion of its 2021 schedule on Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Austin Peay.
• Southern is 15-6 (.714) all-time in home openers under head coach Kerri Blaylock.
15-straight winsÂ
- Southern has won 15-straight games dating back to last season. SIU won its final nine games before the season was brought to a halt.
- It's tied for the third-longest win streak in school history and is the longest for the Salukis since 2004.
- It is also tied for the longest win streak of Kerri Blaylock's tenure as head coach.Â
- Southern's program record 23-game win streak streak set during the 1991 season, and its 16-game win streak during the 1990 season came under Coach Brechtelsbauer.
Southern's 15-game win streak is the fourth-longest active streak in NCAA DI.Â
- SIU is the only team not ranked in the Top-10 with a win streak of 13-games or more.
- Not surprisingly, Southern received votes in the most recent NFCA Top-25 coaches poll.
Active Win Streaks
No. 10 Oklahoma St. - 21 games
No. 3 Arizona - 16 games
No. 1 UCLA - 16 games
SIU - 15 games
No. 6 Florida - 14 games
No. 2 Oklahoma - 13 games
No. 8 Oregon - 13 games
6-0 start to a season
- Southern's 6-0 start is its best to open a season since 2009. The 2009 Salukis started the season 11-0.
- SIU is the only MVC program to get through the first two weekends without a loss.
- The Salukis are one of 10 teams nationally to get off to at least a 6-0 start.
Scouting the opposition
DePaul (3-2)
• DePaul went 3-2 to open the 2021 season and posted a pair of run-rule wins over Valparaiso and Loyola.
• The Blue Demons are ranked nationally in several prominent categories including seventh in batting percentage (.392), 10th in on-base percentage (.470) and 15th in scoring (8.2/runs per game).
• DePaul has won three-straight Big East Championships and were picked to win the league in the 2020 preseason poll. The Blue Demons were selected to finish second in the 2021 Preseason poll.
All-time vs. DePaul
• Southern trails the all-time series to DePaul, 3-5.
• The Salukis defeated the Blue Demons, 1-0, at last season's Saluki Invitational thanks to a three-hit shutout from Sarah Harness. It was SIU's first win over DePaul since 2004.
Ball State (0-0)
- Ball State will be playing for the first time this season at the Coach B Classic.Â
- The Cardinals went 18-9 during the shortened 2020 campaign.
- Ball State was picked third in the 2021 MAC Preseason Poll
- Ball State returns nearly its entire team from the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season, which includes all five seniors who were set to graduate.
All-time vs. Ball State
- The Salukis lead the all-time series, 10-7, in a matchup that dates back to 1980.
- Southern has won four of the last five meetings and six of the last eight dating back to 1989.
- Ball State won the most recent meeting between the two programs - a 5-4 win on Feb. 9, 2014.
St. Louis (0-1)
- St. Louis opened its 2021 season with a 5-4 loss to Bradley on Feb. 22.Â
- The Billikens went 8-13 in 2020.Â
- St. Louis was picked to finish fifth in the A-10 on the strength of having eight starters and three pitchers back from its 2020 team.
All-time vs. St. Louis
- SIU holds a 48-4 all-time record against the Billikens.Â
- Southern has won four-straight in the series, which includes a pair of shutout wins over the Billikens in 2019. SIU outscored SLU, 16-0 in the two wins.
- The Billikens last win in the series came during the 2015 season.
Austin Peay
• Austin Peay went 4-0 at the Troy Invitational last weekend for its first 4-0 start in program history.
• The Govs were picked sixth in the OVC Preseason Poll.
• Austin Peay joins SIU as one of 24 schools who have yet to record a loss this season.Â
All-time vs. Austin Peay
• The Salukis lead the all-time series, 15-2, in a regional matchup that dates back to 1986.
• Southern had won 15-straight over the Govs before Austin Peay swept a doubleheader during the 2013 season.
• 2013 was also the last time that the two programs met.
Swiping Freebies
• Southern comes into the weekend ranked second in the Valley, and sixth nationally, with a 2.83 stolen bases per game average.
• SIU is 17-for-19 in stolen base attempts this season and nine different Salukis have already stolen a base.
• Southern's 2.83 steals per game are almost double its 2020 average of 1.47/game.
• SIU's 1.47 steals per game average was the highest since at least 1987. The 1991 team holds the highest stolen bases per game average for a full season at 1.44.
2020 - 1.47 sb/game
1991 - 1.44
1992 - 1.37
2010 - 1.34
Breakout season underway
• Tori Schullian is off to an impressive start to the 2021 season.
• Schullian leads the Valley, and ranks 18th nationally, with a .636 batting average.
• Her .714 on-base percentage ranks her second in the MVC and 17th nationally.
• Schullian has a hit in all five games that she has played in this season. Her seven hits through five games are more than double what she had in 14 games in 2020 (3).Â
