Southern Illinois University
Arizona St.
Game Notes: Salukis at Tempe Regional
05/19/2021 | 11:17:00 | Softball
The Southern Illinois University softball team is set to open NCAA postseason play at the Tempe Regional on Thursday, May 20 when they take on the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils at 9 p.m. CT at ASU's Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium.
Ways to follow along
SIU's game against Arizona State will be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans locally can tune into Magic 95.1 FM to listen to the game, with play-by-play announcer Bryce Williams on the call beginning at 8:45 p.m. CT. Fans can also stream the audio on SIUSalukis.com/allaccess.
Tempe Regional Schedule
DATES: May 20-22, 2021
LOCATION: Tempe, Ariz.
VENUE: Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium
TELEVISION: ESPN3
ANNOUNCERS: John Schriften (play-by-play), Jennie Ritter (analysis)
Thursday, May 20
6:30 p.m. CT — (Game 1) BYU (36-15) vs. Virginia Tech (33-13), (ESPN3)
9 p.m. CT — (Game 2) No. 15 Arizona State (32-14) vs. Southern Illinois (37-14), (ESPN3)
Friday:Â
3:00 p.m. CT — (Game 3) Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
5:30 p.m. CT — (Game 4) Non-Winner Game 1 vs. Non-Winner Game 2
8:00 p.m. CT — (Game 5) Non-Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday:Â
6:00 p.m. EDT — (Game 6) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
8:30 p.m. EDT — (Game 7) If necessary
All-time at NCAA Tournament
• This marks SIU's 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. Four of those appearances (1970, 1971, 1977, 1978) came during the days of the AIAW.
• This will be SIU's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Kerri Blaylock and the second time that Southern has secured the conference's automatic bid.
• Southern made five-straight NCAA Regional appearances from 2003-07.Â
• SIU has won at least one game at six of its seven NCAA Tournament Appearances under Blaylock and have amassed a 10-14 overall record in those seven appearances.Â
• Southern's nine appearances since 1982 are tied with Illinois State for the most of any active Valley schools.
• SIU is one of two teams in Valley history to win three games at a NCAA Regional. The Salukis went 3-2 at both the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Tournaments, which is tied with Creighton (2004) for the most wins at a NCAA Regional in Valley history.Â
All-time vs. Arizona State
• The Sun Devils are 2-1 all-time against the Salukis.
• ASU took the first-ever meeting between the two programs- 10-2 on March 17, 1982. Three years later, SIU got revenge with a 2-0 extra inning win.Â
• The two squads most recently met in 2006, when the No. 10 Sun Devils escaped with a 2-0 win over the Salukis on March 11.
• The Salukis are 4-9 all-time against current Pac 12 foes.
• The last time SIU took on a Pac 12 opponent was also its last victory over a Pac 12 foe- a 3-1 win over Oregon State on Feb. 6, 2009.
All-time vs. BYU
• The Salukis are 0-2 all-time against the Cougars.
• Southern and BYU tangled twice at the Triple Crown Invitational in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2015, which were the first NCAA DI softball games played outside the United States.Â
• The Salukis hold a 3-6 all-time record against current West Coast Conference teams.
• SIU's last win over a West Coast Conference foe came at the 2004 NCAA Regional in Palo Alto, Calif. on May 22 - a 1-0 victory over Pacific in which SIU plated a run on an error in the second inning and Amy Harre threw a three-hit shutout.
All-time vs. Virginia Tech
• SIU is 0-2 all-time against Virginia Tech.Â
• Southern dropped a pair of contests to the Hokies (4-2, 9-0) at the 2013 Dot Richardson Invitational in Clemont, Fla.Â
• The Salukis hold a 15-22 all-time record against current ACC foes, which includes a 9-5 loss to Louisville in SIU's opening game of the 2019 NCAA Regional.
• Southern's last win over an ACC program came on Feb. 25, 2007 - a 4-1 win over Florida State behind a three-hitter from Ashley Hamby to close out the NFCA Leadoff Classic. SIU went 4-1 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in 2007 with 3-2 wins over ACC foe North Carolina and Auburn.
History vs. Ranked Opponents
• The Salukis will face the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday, which will mark the second time this season that SIU has faced a ranked opponent.Â
• SIU holds a 30-62 all-time record against teams ranked in the top-25.Â
• Southern's last win over a ranked opponent came on Feb. 21, 2021- a 6-5 extra-inning win over No. 22/24 Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
• SIU's last two ranked wins have come against Mississippi State.
Current Salukis at the NCAA Tournament
• Seven current Salukis (Jenny Jansen, Maris Boelens, Sidney Sikes, Maddy Vermejan, Katelyn Massa, Ashley Wood and Meredith Wernig) played in the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Evanston, Ill.Â
• Vermejan (four AB) and Massa (five AB) also played and notched a base hit in the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Oxford, Miss.Â
• Jansen went 6-for-9 with three doubles and 2 RBIs at the 2019 Evanston Regional while Boelens was 4-for-11 with two runs scored and the game-winning RBI in SIU's 2-1 win over Detroit Mercy. Sikes (2-for-7), Vermejan (2-for-8), Massa (2-for-9) and Wood (2-for-9) each tallied multiple hits at the 2019 NCAA Regional.
Body of Work
• Southern won the MVC Tournament title for the second time in the last five years with a 2-0 win over UNI.Â
• SIU has won its conference tournament title three times: 1991, 2017, 2021.
• The Salukis finished with the No. 44 RPI and tallied 11 top-100 wins, which included Southern's win over No. 29 RPI Mississippi State.
• SIU's 37 wins are its most since 2010.
Our Brand of Softball
• In SIU's 10 NCAA Tournament wins under Blaylock, Southern has allowed one run or fewer in nine of those wins which includes four shutouts.
• Southern hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of its 10 NCAA Tournament wins under Blaylock.
All-Everything
• Jenny Jansen went 5-for-9 (.556) with a home run in each of SIU's three wins at the MVC Tournament to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
• Jansen tied the conference record, last tied in 2008, for most home runs in a MVC Tournament with three.Â
More on All-Tourney
• Bailey Caylor hit .500 (5-for-10) at the MVC Tournament, which included a career-high three hits in SIU's win over Drake.
• Caylor 's 15 multi-hit games are tied for the most on the team.
• Aubree DePron hit .500 (4-for-8) and notched a hit in all three games to earn All-Tourney honors.
M-V-P
• Sarah Harness was fantastic in the circle to help lead the Salukis to the MVC Tournament title.
• Harness went 3-0 with a .33 ERA (1 earned run) in 21 innings of work with 26 strikeouts, which included a career-high 14 in SIU's 7-2 win over Illinois State.
All-Conference honors
• Southern tallied five all-conference honors and an all-defensive team selection.
• Maddy Vermejan earned a spot on the All-MVC First Team while Katelyn Massa, Maris Boelens, Bailey Caylor and Sarah Harness all were selected to the Second Team.
• Massa, meanwhile, was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team for the second time in her career.
• The Salukis have had at least five earn all-conference honors in five-straight seasons.
30-win seasonÂ
• 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.
Full set of game notes available here.Â
