Salukis Head to Mexico for Puerto Vallarta Challenge

Carbondale, IL - The Southern Illinois Salukis will make a quick turnaround this week as they head south for another tournament. The Salukis will play four games across a four-day tournament in Puerto Vallarta, MX beginning Wednesday, Feb. 15 and finishing Saturday, Feb. 18.

Southern's 4-0 start at the FGCU Invitational makes them one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the Valley. The Salukis were solid all-around, outscoring their opponents 22-10 and only trailing for two innings throughout the weekend. 14 of SIU's 31 hits have gone for extra-bases (nine doubles, four home-runs, one triple) as they currently lead the MVC with a .495 slugging percentage. Giving up just eight earned runs, SIU is holding its opponents to a .163 batting average, which also marks a Valley-best through the first weekend.

All four of Southern's games will be streamed on FloSoftball with links available on the online schedule.

Game 1 (2/15) 12:00 pm vs. Kansas University

The Salukis will begin play at the PV Challenge against the Kansas Jayhawks, a program that Coach Sewell is familiar with as she spent five years there as an assistant prior to coming to SIU in 2008. Kansas currently holds the all-time series record over SIU, winning six of the first 10 matchups.

Entering the 2023 season Kansas was selected to finish in seventh out of seven in the Preseason Big 12 rankings. However, Jayhawks currently sit at 3-2 after opening the season at the Candrea Classic in Tucson, AZ and are riding a two-game win streak. Kansas is led by Jennifer McFalls who's currently in her fourth season with Jayhawks.

Game 2 (2/16) 6:00 pm vs Ole Miss University

The Salukis will continue the trend of facing off with Power Five opponents Thursday evening as they take on SEC opponent Ole Miss. The Rebels wrapped up session one of the Puerto Vallarta Challenge with a 4-2 record with their two losses coming to No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 24 Oregon in a pair of close games.

Currently just outside the top-25, Ole Miss came in at 10th in the SEC Preseason Poll with every school in front of them being ranked nationally. The matchup will mark just the eighth meeting all-time between the two with SIU holding a 4-3 advantage in the series record.

Game 3 (2/17) 10:00 am vs North Dakota State University

The North Dakota State Bison also participated in session one of the PV Challenge along with Ole Miss, finishing with a 1-5 record. The Bison lost a pair of games to Ole Miss as well as dropping close games to No. 23 Oregon 3-4 and Big 10 opponent Maryland 2-4.

NDSU is coming off a 30-game win season in 2022, finishing third in the Summit League regular season. The Salukis and Bison have faced off twice prior to this year's meeting with the series being split 1-1. SIU last beat NDSU in 2019 at the PV Challenge when the Dawgs came back from a 3-8 deficit to win 10-9 after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Game 4 (2/18) 10:00 am vs Sacramento State University

The Salukis will conclude play at Puerto Vallarta against Sacramento State on Saturday morning before the Dawgs return to Carbondale for an eight-game home stand. The Hornets are another opponent for SIU that's coming off a 30-win season after finishing in second place of the Big Sky in 2022. However, Sacramento State was selected as the 2023 preseason favorite.

Hosting its own tournament to open the season, Sac State currently sits at 2-3 through five games played. Southern last played against the Hornets in 2019 on the same field that Saturday's game will be played. The Salukis are 2-0 all-time against Sacramento State as the two programs have only met twice.

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