Salukis travel to UNI for pivotal road series

The Southern Illinois University softball team travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers in a pivotal Missouri Valley Conference series that begins Saturday, May 8 at Noon. Seeding for next weekend's MVC Tournament is on the line as UNI, SIU and Missouri State all vie for the No. 2 seed, which comes with a double-bye through the first two rounds.

All-Time vs. UNI
• The Salukis hold a commanding 78-39 series lead against the Panthers.
• Southern swept the three-game set at the UNI Dome in 2019 but the Panthers got redemption with a 2-0 win in the 2019 MVC Tournament.
• SIU sports a 23-14 record in games played in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
• The Salukis are 41-20 all-time against the Panthers under head coach Kerri Blaylock.

RPI Report
•Southern comes into the weekend with the second-best RPI (50) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Illinois State sits at No. 44 while UNI (No. 73) also has a top-75 RPI.

Pitching on Point
• SIU's pitching staff lived up to its billing as the league's best to help SIU take its sixth MVC series of the season vs. Valparaiso.
• Southern held Valpo to just one run on the weekend, which was the fourth series in which SIU has held its opponent to four runs or fewer and the second time this season that the Salukis have held its opponent to just one run in a three-game sweep
• It marks just the second time since 2000 (when MVC went to three-game series) and first time since 2005 that SIU has swept multiple series in which they've allowed one run or fewer in a three-game sweep.
• Southern also held Bradley (4), Loyola (1) and Indiana State (4) to four runs or fewer.

Next one is No. 20
• Sarah Harness, the MVC leader in wins, is on the verge of the 15th 20-win season in program history.
• With one more win this season, Harness will become just the third Saluki sophomore to win 20-plus games in a single-season and the first to do so since 2005.
• Amy Harre holds SIU's sophomore record for wins at 22.

Amy Harre - 22-11 (2003)
Cassidy Scoggins - 20-5 (2005)
Sarah Harness - 19-4 (2021)

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.
• With a win against UNI, Southern will have its most wins in a season since 2012, when the Salukis went 36-20.

Making History

• Maddy Vermejan further cemented her name in Saluki softball lore as she set several all-time career and single-season records and approaches several other milestones.
• Became SIU's all-time leader in games played (224). She passed Marta Viefhaus, who played in 223 games from 1998-2001.
• Passed Katie Jordan for the most games started (221) in program history.
• Broke Mallory Duran-Sellers (2009-12) school record for career runs scored. Her 165 careers are the second-most in MVC history (25 shy of Kara Nelson's all-time conference record).
• Broke Cheryl Venorsky and Jami Koss' single-season stolen bases record with her 26th steal, breaking a record that had stood for 25 years.
• Three 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.
• Seven steals away from breaking Marta Viefhaus and Jami Koss' school career record of 63.

Defending our house
• SIU improved to 19-4 at Charlotte West Stadium this season with its sweep of Valpo.
• Southern's 19 home wins this season are its most since 2006 while its .826 winning percentage at home this season is also its best since 2006
• The Salukis are 28-4 at home over the last two seasons.

Have a Day
• Elisabeth Huckleberry went 2-for-2 with two home runs and a career-high five RBIs in SIU's 8-0 run-rule win over Valpo on May 2.
• Her two home runs tied the school record (43rd Saluki to hit two) for most home runs in a single game and she became just the 10th Saluki freshman to hit two homers in a game.
• Southern improved to 42-0 in games where at least one player hits two home runs

Swiping Freebies
•Vermejan's 26 stolen bases in 45 games this season are as many as she had in the previous three seasons combined.
•Vermejan is just the eighth player in program history to steal 20-plus bases in a single-season.
•She is just the fifth player in program history, and the first in 25 years, with 50 career steals. She needs seven more stolen bases to break Marta Viefhaus/Jami Koss' school record of 63.

Picking up Weekly honors

• Sarah Harness has earned five MVC Pitcher of the Week honors this season, which are the most in a single-season by a Saluki pitcher since Amy Harre racked up five in 2002.
• Harness was spectacular in the circle in SIU's sweep of Valparaiso, as she went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12 innings of work.
• The sophomore hurler, who was named one of 30 finalists for the NFCA DI National Freshman of the Year award last week, allowed just seven hits in those 12 innings- all of which were singles- to go along with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

Weekly Honors
Feb. 22 - Maddy Vermejan, Player of the Week
March 1 - Sarah Harness, MVC Pitcher of the Week
March 9 - Sarah Harness, MVC Pitcher of the Week
March 22 - Elizabeth Warwick, MVC Newcomer of the Week
April 5 - Sarah Harness, MVC Pitcher of the Week
April 12 - Sarah Harness, MVC Pitcher of the Week
April 12 - Bailey Caylor, MVC Newcomer of the Week
May 3 - Sarah Harness, MVC Pitcher of the Week

A full set of this weekend's game notes are available here.

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Players Mentioned

Bailey Caylor

Sarah Harness

Elisabeth Huckleberry

Maddy Vermejan

Elizabeth Warwick

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