Southern Illinois University
Southeast Missouri State University
Salukis travel to Cape Girardeau to take on SEMO
03/30/2021 | 2:22:00 | Softball
All-time vs. SEMO
• SIU leads the all-time series 72-23-1 in a rivalry that dates back to 1976.
• The Salukis are 25-3 all-time against the Redhawks under 22nd-year head coach Kerri Blaylock.
• Southern has won five-straight over the Redhawks, which includes a 6-2 win over SEMO on March 17, 2021.Â
Last time they met
• The Salukis plated at least one run in each of the first four innings, which included a three-run first that gave Saluki starting pitcher Sarah Harness all the run support she needed in a 6-2 win over SEMO on March 17, 2021.
• Sarah Harness improved to 8-1 on the season after she threw her sixth complete game of the season in the win. The sophomore hurler allowed two earned runs on eight hits, struck out seven and walked just one.
• Katelyn Massa led the Salukis at the plate, as she went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, a run scored and 2 RBIs. Jansen, Caylor and Huckleberry also recorded hits in the victory.
Broke out the Brooms
• The Salukis swept the three-game series from the Bradley Braves this past week, which included a 10-2 run-rule win over the Braves on March 28.
• Southern outscored Bradley, 20-4 to sweep the Braves for the first time since 2016.Â
• SIU's series win over Bradley marked the eighth-straight series win for the Salukis over the Braves in a streak that dates back to 2012.Â
Cracked the Top-5
• Katelyn Massa totaled 7 RBIs in SIU's three-game sweep of the Bradley Braves last weekend.Â
• With her 7 RBIs, Massa cracked the top-five of SIU's all-time RBI list.Â
• Massa currently ranks fourth in school history with 134 career RBIs. She needs 22 RBIs to break the all-time career RBI record, set by Shaye Harre.Â
SIU's all-time RBI leaders
155 - Shaye Harre (2014-17)
147 - Jayna Spivey (2011-14)
137 - Taylor Orsburn (2011-14)
134 - Katelyn Massa (2017-pres.)
Coming up clutch in the three-hole
• Maris Boelens hit in the three-hole for the first time this season in SIU's sweep of Bradley and put up impressive numbers.
• Boelens recorded multiple hits in all three wins and hit .600 (6-for-10) for the series.
• In SIU's 6-1 game one win, Boelens went 2-for-3 with a career-high tying 3 RBIs.
• In Southern's 10-2 run-rule win over the Braves on Sunday, Boelens went 2-for-3 and tied her career-best with two runs scored.
• Boelens had drove in multiple runs three times in 110 career games prior to this season. She already has three multi-RBI games in 26 games this season.
Moved into third
• Maddy Vermejan scored five runs last week for the Salukis to move into the Top-3 in school history for career runs scored.Â
• Vermejan's 150 career runs are tied with Becky Lis for the third-most in program history.Â
• Vermejan needs to score 13 runs to pass Mallory Duran-Sellers for the most runs scored in school history.Â
SIU's all-time runs scored leaders
162 - Mallory Duran-Sellers (2009-12)
159 - Colleen Holloway (1990-93)
150 - Maddy Vermejan (2017-pres.)
150 - Becky Lis (1994-97)
Getting it done in non-conference play
• Southern holds a .900 winning percentage (18-2) in non-conference play this season.
• With two more non-conference games on the schedule, SIU has a chance to break the school record for the best regular season non-conference winning percentage in program history. (Note: excludes MVC/NCAA Tournament games)
• Southern needs to at least split its final two non-conference games this season to break the record.
• Only three Saluki teams have finished a season with a non-conference winning percentage above .800- the 1991, 2003 and 2006 teams. All three advanced to a NCAA Regional.
• In fact, of the 10 times that the Salukis have finished a regular season with a .739 non-conference winning percentage or better, they have advanced to postseason play in eight of those seasons.
• The 2020 team posted a .761 non-conference winning percentage only to see the remainder of the season cancelled due to COVID-19.
• The 1993 team (.760) missed out the NCAA Tournament but did advance to the NIC Tournament, where they went 2-1.
• The 2009 team (.782) has the highest non-conference winning percentage for a Saluki team that didn't advance to the postseason.
