Friday, February 17
Spartanburg, SC
4:30 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Wofford
Photo by: Tim McCaughan
Saluki Baseball Opens 2023 on the Road with Wofford and Towson
02/16/2023 | 12:19:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Fresh off back-to-back 40-win season, the Southern Illinois baseball program is set to begin its 2023 season Friday afternoon in South Carolina. Fourth-year head coach Lance Rhodes and the Salukis will face Wofford in a three-game series while also taking on Towson in a single game during opening weekend.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday at Wofford – 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday at Wofford – 1 p.m.
Saturday vs Towson – 5 p.m.
Sunday at Wofford – 12 p.m. | ESPN+
PROBABLE STARTERS
Game 1 • SIU RHP Ben Chapman (2-4, 6.89 ERA, 49.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Matthew Marchel (7-2, 2.52 ERA, 85.2 IP)
Game 2 • SIU RHP Easton Dermody (6-3, 4.82 ERA, 61.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Charlie Weber (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP)
Game 3 • SIU TBA vs TOW TBA
Game 4 • SIU RHP Paul Bonzagni (0-1, 5.91 ERA, 10.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Coulson Buchanan (4-1, 4.63, 56.1 IP)
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern Illinois baseball is coming off a dominating 2022 in which the program finished 44-16 and won its first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title since 1990.
• Head coach Lance Rhodes has led the Salukis to a 96-42 record overall while posting the second-highest winning percentage by a head coach in program history at 69.6 – just behind John Lutz who owns a 72.8 winning percent and a 129-48-1 career record.
• Rhodes enters his fourth season at the helm of the program, leading the team to 40 or more wins during the last two seasons -- the first back-to-back 40-win seasons in program history.
• The Salukis won every weekend series it played including all seven Valley series last season.
• SIU is 8-2 under Lance Rhodes during opening weekend.
• SIU returns 18 players from 2022 and will still be one of the most experienced teams in the nation. 33 of the 35 players are in at least their third year or more of collegiate baseball.
• Southern Illinois reliever Matthew Steidl and shortstop Kaeber Rog were named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper 2023 Preseason All-American Teams -- the first time in program history that the Salukis have had two preseason All-Americans on the same team to start the year.
• SIU finished first or second in 13 offensive categories in the MVC. They led the conference in on-base percentage., hits, at bats, walks, and sac flies. Additionally, they placed second in batting average., slugging percentage, runs, RBIs, home runs, total bases, total plate appearances, and stolen bases.
ROG
• Kaeber Rog had one of the best statistical seasons in program history in his first season as a Saluki in 2022. The Willemstad, Curacao native tallied the fourth-most hits in a single season in program history (89) and his 21 doubles and 14 home runs are tied for the sixth-most in school history. One of only two Salukis to start every game this season, Rog tallied 25 multi-hit games, which included 10 games with three or more hits, and hit a conference-best .405 in MVC play. The switch-hitting shortstop earned the MVC's Joe Carter Player of the Year award as well as the league's Newcomer of the Year honor, becoming just the second player in conference history to win both in the same season.
THE STAFF
• Brett Peel remains the hitting coach of an offense that broke the school record for home runs (88) in a single season for the second year in a row. SIU also tallied the second-most hits (623), second-most runs scored (459), and second-most RBIs (422) in school history in 2022.
• Austin Tribby moves from Director of Pitching Development to Pitching Coach in 2023. SIU led the MVC in wins, innings pitched, and ERA (4.89) last season.
THE MATCHUP
• It will be the first meeting with both Wofford and Towson all-time. Wofford finished 42-16-1 last season and was picked to win the SOCON in 2023. Southern will face SOCON Preseason Pitcher of the Year Matthew Marchel on opening night. Towson is coming off a 14-39 season a year ago and was picked to finish 10th in the CAA.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will travel to Austin Peay on Tuesday for a midweek meeting with the Govs. The game will air on ESPN Plus.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday at Wofford – 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday at Wofford – 1 p.m.
Saturday vs Towson – 5 p.m.
Sunday at Wofford – 12 p.m. | ESPN+
PROBABLE STARTERS
Game 1 • SIU RHP Ben Chapman (2-4, 6.89 ERA, 49.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Matthew Marchel (7-2, 2.52 ERA, 85.2 IP)
Game 2 • SIU RHP Easton Dermody (6-3, 4.82 ERA, 61.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Charlie Weber (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP)
Game 3 • SIU TBA vs TOW TBA
Game 4 • SIU RHP Paul Bonzagni (0-1, 5.91 ERA, 10.2 IP) vs WOF RHP Coulson Buchanan (4-1, 4.63, 56.1 IP)
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern Illinois baseball is coming off a dominating 2022 in which the program finished 44-16 and won its first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title since 1990.
• Head coach Lance Rhodes has led the Salukis to a 96-42 record overall while posting the second-highest winning percentage by a head coach in program history at 69.6 – just behind John Lutz who owns a 72.8 winning percent and a 129-48-1 career record.
• Rhodes enters his fourth season at the helm of the program, leading the team to 40 or more wins during the last two seasons -- the first back-to-back 40-win seasons in program history.
• The Salukis won every weekend series it played including all seven Valley series last season.
• SIU is 8-2 under Lance Rhodes during opening weekend.
• SIU returns 18 players from 2022 and will still be one of the most experienced teams in the nation. 33 of the 35 players are in at least their third year or more of collegiate baseball.
• Southern Illinois reliever Matthew Steidl and shortstop Kaeber Rog were named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper 2023 Preseason All-American Teams -- the first time in program history that the Salukis have had two preseason All-Americans on the same team to start the year.
• SIU finished first or second in 13 offensive categories in the MVC. They led the conference in on-base percentage., hits, at bats, walks, and sac flies. Additionally, they placed second in batting average., slugging percentage, runs, RBIs, home runs, total bases, total plate appearances, and stolen bases.
ROG
• Kaeber Rog had one of the best statistical seasons in program history in his first season as a Saluki in 2022. The Willemstad, Curacao native tallied the fourth-most hits in a single season in program history (89) and his 21 doubles and 14 home runs are tied for the sixth-most in school history. One of only two Salukis to start every game this season, Rog tallied 25 multi-hit games, which included 10 games with three or more hits, and hit a conference-best .405 in MVC play. The switch-hitting shortstop earned the MVC's Joe Carter Player of the Year award as well as the league's Newcomer of the Year honor, becoming just the second player in conference history to win both in the same season.
THE STAFF
• Brett Peel remains the hitting coach of an offense that broke the school record for home runs (88) in a single season for the second year in a row. SIU also tallied the second-most hits (623), second-most runs scored (459), and second-most RBIs (422) in school history in 2022.
• Austin Tribby moves from Director of Pitching Development to Pitching Coach in 2023. SIU led the MVC in wins, innings pitched, and ERA (4.89) last season.
THE MATCHUP
• It will be the first meeting with both Wofford and Towson all-time. Wofford finished 42-16-1 last season and was picked to win the SOCON in 2023. Southern will face SOCON Preseason Pitcher of the Year Matthew Marchel on opening night. Towson is coming off a 14-39 season a year ago and was picked to finish 10th in the CAA.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will travel to Austin Peay on Tuesday for a midweek meeting with the Govs. The game will air on ESPN Plus.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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INF
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RHP
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