Southern Illinois University
Valparaiso University
Salukis host Valpo for final home series of 2021
04/29/2021 | 2:04:00 | Softball
Southern will honor its four seniors following Saturday's doubleheader
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team hosts the Valparaiso Softball Team for its final home series of the 2021 season. Saturday is Senior Day and the Salukis will honor their four seniors- Maddy Vermejan, Katelyn Massa, Maris Boelens and Meredith Wernig at the conclusion of Saturday's doubleheader.
All-time vs. Valparaiso
• SIU leads the all-time series, 5-1 in a matchup that dates back to 2005.
• Southern swept the three-game series at Charlotte West Stadium in 2019.
• This will mark Valparaiso's third-ever trip to Carbondale- the Brown and Gold played in the 2005 Southern Classic, where the Salukis handed them a 6-0 defeat.
• The two teams split the first MVC doubleheader between the two programs - Valpo won game one, 7-6 while SIU returned the favor in game two with a 9-6 victory.
More on last season's sweep
• SIU won game one of its three-game sweep of Valparaiso, 20-1.
• Southern's 20 runs were the most for the Salukis since 1993 and it marked just the sixth time in program history that Southern has plated 20-plus runs. SIU's 20 runs were the most in a Missouri Valley Conference game since April 5, 2014.
• SIU scored 30 runs in its series sweep of Valparaiso- which marked just the seventh time in school history that Southern has scored 30-plus runs in a three-game conference series.
• It was the most runs that the Salukis have scored in a conference three-game series since 2019, when SIU plated 32 runners at Bradley on April 21-22, 2018.
RPI Report
•Southern comes into the weekend with the second-best RPI (51) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Illinois State sits at No. 37 while UNI (No. 89) also has a top-100 RPI.
Defending our house
- The Salukis are 16-4 (.800) this season at Charlotte West Stadium.
- Southern's .800 winning percentage at home is its best for a full season since 2006.
- SIU's 16 wins at home are tied with its most since 2019, when it also won 16 home games.
- With one win in the series against Valpo, Southern will have its most home wins in a single-season since 2012. With two or three wins this weekend, it will be SIU's most home wins in a season since 2006.
- The Salukis are 25-4 at home over the last two seasons.
Pitching on Point
• SIU's pitching staff lived up to its billing as the league's best to help SIU take its fifth MVC series of the season at Indiana State.
• The Salukis held the Sycamores, who entered the weekend series averaging a robust 5.5 runs per game in Valley play, to just four runs all weekend.
• The four runs were the fewest that Indiana State has scored in any MVC series this season.
• It also marked the third series this season in which Southern has held an opponent to four runs or fewer. Southern also held Bradley (4) and Loyola (1) to four runs or fewer.
30-win season
• The Salukis won their 30th game of the season with a 4-1 win over Indiana State on April 24 and have now won 30-plus games in 18 of Kerri Blaylock's 21 full seasons as head coach- the most 30-plus win seasons in the MVC during that time period.
• Since 1983, SIU has tallied 26 30-plus win seasons- which is also the most in the Valley.
Approaching milestones
Maddy Vermejan will further cement her name in Saluki softball lore as she quickly approaches several all-time career and single-season school records.
- Three games played shy of surpassing Marta Viefhaus to become SIU's all-time leader in games played. Viefhaus played in 223 games from 1998-2001, while Vermejan has played in 221 entering this weekend's series.
- Three games started shy of passing Katie Jordan (220 GS) to become SIU's all-time leader in games started.
- One run shy of breaking a tie with Mallory Duran-Sellers (2009-12) for the most runs scored in program history. Both sit at 162.
- Five hits shy of passing Cheryl Venorsky (1989-92) for 10th on Southern's all-time hits list.
- Four RBIs from becoming the 18th player in program history with 100-plus runs driven in.
- Two hit by pitches shy of breaking Allie Vadeboncouer's single-season record of 28, set in 2012.
- Two stolen bases away from passing Cheryl Venorsky and Jami Koss for the most stolen bases in a single-season in program history. She is nine steals away from breaking Marta Viefhaus and Jami Koss' school career record of 63.
A complete set of game notes can be viewed here.
