Southern Illinois University
Valparaiso University
Salukis head to Valparaiso for three-game series
04/08/2022 | 4:39:00 | Softball
Southern's three game series at Valpo begins Sunday with doubleheader
NOTES
All-time vs. Valparaiso
SIU leads the all-time series, 8-1 in a matchup that dates back to 2005.
Southern swept the three-game series at Charlotte West Stadium in 2021 and have won seven-straight against the Beacons.
The two teams split the first MVC doubleheader between the two programs, which also was the last time that the Salukis played at Valparaiso.
In 2018, the Beacons won game one, 7-6 before SIU returned the favor in game two with a 9-6 victory.
Getting it done at the dish and in the field
Southern leads the Valley in both batting average and fielding percentage.
The Salukis are one of only six programs to lead their conference in both categories.
Programs that lead their conference in both fielding percentage/batting average:
Central Arkansas (ASUN)
George Washington (A-10)
Cal State Fullerton (Big West)
Drexel (CAA)
Youngstown State (Horizon)
Southern Illinois (MVC)
Top of the Class
Southern currently leads the Valley in a slew of statistical categories including:
Batting average (.287)
Double plays per game (.37)
Fielding percentage (.970)
On-Base percentage (.398)
Scoring (5.90)
Walks (127)
Walk it out
Southern drew a season-high 13 walks in its win over Drake on April 2.
Not only was it a season-high it was the most walks drawn by the Salukis since at least 2003.
SIU's 13 walks are the most by a Valley school since Missouri State drew 14 against Evansville on April 19, 2019.
Southern's 13 walks are tied for the 10th-most drawn in a NCAA DI game this season.
We love free bases
SIU leads the Valley, and ranks 19th nationally, with 127 total walks.
Seven Salukis have already drawn double-digit free passes this season, led by Jenny Jansen's conference-leading 21 walks.
Ashley Wood ranks second in the Valley with 20 walks.
Southern has led the league in walks in seven of interim head coach Jen Sewell's 13 full seasons on staff and SIU has finished top-4 in the category 10 times during that time period.
All-time hits leader
Jenny Jansen, who earlier this season became SIU's all-time RBI leader, broke Jen Feldmeier's 1997 school record for career hits with her 224th career base knock in the first inning of SIU's 8-1 win over Drake on April 2.
She is one of only six players in program history to reach the 200-career hit plateau and her 230 career hits are the 14th-most in Missouri Valley Conference history.
Tied a school record
Elizabeth Warwick tied the school record after she drew four walks in SIU's 13-5 win over Drake on April 3. It was the most walks in a game by a Salukis since 2019 when Kyleigh Decker walked four times against Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 10, 2019.
It marks the fifth time that a Saluki has drawn four walks in a game.
Second record she's tied this season
Elizabeth Warwick crushed a pair of home runs in SIU's 8-1 win over Loyola on March 26.
The Chattanooga, Tenn. native tied the school record for home runs in a single game.
It marked the 44th time that a Saluki has hit two home runs in a game and Southern improved to 43-0 in games in which at least one player hits two home runs.
Hamilton hits in bunches
Rylie Hamilton has a team-best 14 multi-hit games this season.
The Cabot, Ark. native currently ranks third in the Valley in hits (38) and fourth in batting average (.390).
Locked in
Jenny Jansen, who has an active 20-game reached base streak, currently ranks in the top-10 in the MVC in: batting average (.390, 2nd), slugging percentage (.580, 9th), On-base percentage (.496, 1st), OB+Slugg % (1.076, 6th), hits (39, 1st), RBI (29, 1st), home runs (6, 4th) and walks (21, 1st).
New RBI Queen
Earlier this season, Jenny Jansen broke Shaye Harre's school record for most career RBI.
The Preseason All-MVC selection became Southern's all-time leader with a three-run single against UNI on March 19.
She currently leads the Valley with 29 RBI on the season.
• Jansen, who's 165 career RBI rank her fourth in Valley history, will need a herculean effort to break the conference record for career RBI. She's currently 27 RBIs shy of Illinois State's Jordan de los Reyes MVC record of 191.
On-base machine
Ashley Wood is currently second in the Valley in on-base percentage (.488).
Wood's streak of 22-straight games in which she reached base at least once came to an end on March 20. Her 22-game reached base streak is just the 10th streak of 20-plus games or more by a Saluki since 2003.
She has reached base safely at least once in 29 of Southern's 30 games this season and with her .407 lifetime on-base percentage is currently one of 15 players in school history with a .400 or better career on-base percentage.
She's a Workhorse
Sarah Harness currently leads the MVC in innings pitched (122.2) and is second in the league in strikeouts (108).
Last season, Harness led the Valley in innings pitched (187.1) and finished second in both wins (22) and strikeouts (203).
Harness has led the league in innings pitched and finished second in strikeouts in each of her two previous seasons, which included the COVID-shortened 2020 season in which she led the Valley with 90.2 innings pitched and was second Evansville's Izzy Vetter with 83 strikeouts.
Her 387 career innings pitched rank 14th in school history and with 12.2 more innings pitched this season, can crack the top-10.
Harness struck out a career-high 15 batters in SIU's win over Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 25, 2022. It was the most strikeouts in a game by a Saluki since Bri Jones struck out 20 in a 16 inning win over Evansville on April 28, 2018.
30-Plus Bombs
Jenny Jansen crushed her 32nd career home run on April 3 at Drake.
Jansen is just the seventh player in program history to reach the 30 career home run milestone and her 32nd bomb moved her into a tie with Katie Wilson for fourth all-time.
Katie Jordan holds the school record for most career home runs with 39.
Finding a way
Sidney Sikes continues to find a way to get on-base for the Salukis, and has reached base safely in 25 of the 30 games she has played in this season.
Sikes has been hit by a pitch in 13 games this season, which included three times in SIU's series sweep of Loyola last weekend.
The senior from Kaufman, Texas currently ranks second in the nation and leads the Valley in hit by pitches per game (.50/game).
Sikes' 40 career hit by pitches are the third-most in school history.
Sikes has been on a roll as of late. She has reached base safely in 10-straight games, which is the longest streak of her career.
Breakout season underway
Aubree DePron is in the midst of a breakout season at the plate.
She's already set or tied career-highs for hits in a season (29), doubles (2), home runs (1), RBI (9), walks (9) and stolen bases (10). Her nine walks through 30 games this season are more than she had in the 60 career games (5) she played in prior to the start of this season.
DePron has had multiple hits in three-straight games, which included a career-high tying three in SIU's win over St. Louis.
