Southern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois
SIU softball to host Saluki Invitational
03/11/2022 | 1:46:00 | Softball
Two-day tournament begins on Sunday, March 13.
The Southern Illinois University softball team hosts the Saluki Invitational beginning Sunday, March 13. Southern took two out of three last weekend at the Coach B Classic, as its lone loss came against No. 17 Northwestern.Â
Full Schedule (as of 3/11)
Sunday, March 13, 2022
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11:30 a.m. |
NIU (H) vs. EIU (V) |
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1:45 p.m. |
SIU (H) vs. EIU (V) |
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4Â p.m. |
SIU (H) vs. SIUE (V) |
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Monday, March 14, 2022
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10 a.m. |
NIU (V) vs. EIU (H) |
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12:15 p.m. |
NIU (V) vs. SIUE (H) |
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2:30 p.m. |
SIU (H) vs. SIUEÂ (V) |
Scouting the Cougars
- The Cougars come in sporting a record of 6-10 after winning two of its last three.
- SIUE is under the direction of SIU Hall of Famer P.J. Finigan, who is in his first season as interim head coach.
- The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the 2022 OVC Preseason Poll.
- Sydney Baalman, who was named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team, was on the OVC's Players to Watch list.Â
All-time vs. SIUE
• SIU and SIUE will meet for the 48th time Wednesday in a series that dates back to 1976.
• The Salukis lead the all-time series, 38-9 and are winners of six of the last eight meetings.
• The Cougars won the most recent meeting - a 4-0 win on March 29, 2017 in Carbondale, Ill.
• Three of the last four scheduled meetings between the sister schools, and four of the past six meetings have been cancelled due to inclement weather.
Scouting the Panthers
- Eastern Illinois sits at 8-12 after its game at Alabama on Monday, March 7 was canceled.
- 2021 OVC Player of the Year Megan Burton returns for the Panthers and is currently hitting .296. She led the OVC in home runs a year ago with 18.
- The Panthers were picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the 2022 OVC Preseason Poll.
- EIU leads the OVC with a one home run per game average. EIU's Hannah Cravens ranks 23rd nationally with 7 home runs.
All-time vs. EIU
• SIU leads the all-time series, 35-33. EIU was a founding member of the Gateway Conference but left for the OVC in 1996. This will mark just the 14th time that the two programs have met since 2000.
- The two sides last played in 2017, with the Panthers winning the first meeting, 7-0 before Southern rallied to take defeat Eastern, 7-5 on Feb. 25, 2017.
Saluki Invitational History
• The Saluki Invitational tournament dates back to 1981.
• SIU holds a 64-31 all-time record at the Saluki Invitational, which includes 11-straight wins dating back to 2019.
Coming up on a record
- Jenny Jansen comes into the Saluki Invitational just five RBI shy of breaking Shaye Harre's school record of 155 career RBI.
- The Warrenton, Mo. native has at least one RBI in seven games this season and leads the Valley with 14 RBI.
200 Career Hits and counting
- With her seven hits at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, Jenny Jansen became the sixth player in program history, and first since Haley Gorman in 2012, to join the 200-career hit club.
- Jansen is one of only 35 active NCAA DI players to reach the 200 career hit plateau. Jansen is joined by Macy Johnson (Drake), Daphne Plummer (Missouri St) and Bella Peterson (Indiana St.) as the only current players in the Valley with 200 career base knocks.
- Jansen cracked the top-five all-time with her six hits last weekend and needs 18 more to break Jen Feldmeier's school record of 223 career hits, set in 1999.
- Jen Feldmeier - 223
- Becky Lis - 221
- Alicia Gara - 215
- Colleen Holloway - 207
- Jenny Jansen - 206
Heck of a weekend
- Aubree DePron hit .556 (5-for-9) with a .636 on-base percentage as SIU took two of three at the Coach B Classic. The junior outfielder tallied five hits, two walks, two runs scored, a stolen base and four RBI.Â
- She collected at least one hit and reached base at least twice in each of SIU's three games last week, which included a career day at the plate in SIU's win over Northern Kentucky.Â
- The Blanchard, Okla. native set career-bests in both hits and runs driven in in the victory over the Norse, as she went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and 3 RBI. She tallied a hit, a walk, a RBI and scored twice in Southern's comeback win over Ball State to open the weekend and followed with a single and a walk against No. 17 Northwestern.
Playing with a lead helps
- SIU is 5-1 this season when scoring in the first inning.
- 7 of Southern's 8 wins have come when it scored the game's first run.
SIU's notable MVC rankings
- 2nd in batting average (.275)
- 2nd in double plays per game (.40)
- 3rd in ERA (2.86)
- 1st in on-base percentage (.384)
- 3rd in scoring (4.73)
- 3rd in slugging percentage (.396)
Tear continues
• Ashley Wood has been on a tear since coming back from an injury that cost her most of last season.
- She has reached base in 16-straight games, which is the longest streak of her career.
- Wood currently ranks second in the league in batting average (.400), second in on-base percentage (.550) and third in OPS (1.150).
Eberle's no-no
- Madi Eberle tossed the 33rd no-hitter in program history in SIU's 8-0 run-rule win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 13.Â
- 14 of SIU's 33 all-time no-hitters have come in five inning wins.
- Eberle needed just 58 pitches to blank the Mastadons. She struck out four and walked two.
- Eberle is one of eight players nationally to have tossed a no-hitter so far this season. 7 of the 8 no-hitters thus far this season are of the five inning variety.Â
