Tuesday, February 21
Clarksville, TN
3 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Austin Peay
Photo by: Mark Olencki
Salukis Set for Midweek Matchup at Austin Peay Tuesday
02/20/2023 | 11:10:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball is set for a midweek meeting with Austin Peay Tuesday afternoon in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Salukis and Governors will take the field at 3 p.m. with the game also airing on ESPN Plus.
PROBABLES
Game 1 • SIU LHP Jordan Bloemer (3-1, 5.36 ERA, 40.1 IP) vs APSU RHP Jacob Kush (3-0, 8.57 ERA, 51.0 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 98-44 record overall while posting the second-highest winning percentage by a head coach in program history at 69.0 – 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 in 2022.
• 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.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saluki baseball is coming off a 2-2 opening weekend. SIU took the season opener against Wofford before earning a neutral site victory over Towson. The Salukis dropped the final two games against the Terriers, taking a series loss against the SOCON preseason favorites.
• Junior transfer Steven Loden had a debut to remember for the Salukis on opening day. The second baseman connected on a pair of home runs in the win while driving in four runs. He became just the eighth player in program history to homer for their first career hit and the fourth ever to homer in his first at bat. Teammates Bennett Eltoft and Cole Christman also belted homers in the same game to join the group of eight Salukis to have their first hit be a home run.
THE MATCHUP
• The Salukis lead the all-time series with Austin Peay, 29-18. Southern is 7-11 against the Governors on the road. The two teams split their midweek meetings in 2022 with each winning their home matchup. The Govs enter Tuesday 1-2 on the year after dropping a weekend series to Illinois State in Normal to open the season.
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.
UP NEXT
SIU travels to Jacksonville State for a weekend series with the Gamecocks beginning Friday.
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.
PROBABLES
Game 1 • SIU LHP Jordan Bloemer (3-1, 5.36 ERA, 40.1 IP) vs APSU RHP Jacob Kush (3-0, 8.57 ERA, 51.0 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 98-44 record overall while posting the second-highest winning percentage by a head coach in program history at 69.0 – 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 in 2022.
• 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.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saluki baseball is coming off a 2-2 opening weekend. SIU took the season opener against Wofford before earning a neutral site victory over Towson. The Salukis dropped the final two games against the Terriers, taking a series loss against the SOCON preseason favorites.
• Junior transfer Steven Loden had a debut to remember for the Salukis on opening day. The second baseman connected on a pair of home runs in the win while driving in four runs. He became just the eighth player in program history to homer for their first career hit and the fourth ever to homer in his first at bat. Teammates Bennett Eltoft and Cole Christman also belted homers in the same game to join the group of eight Salukis to have their first hit be a home run.
THE MATCHUP
• The Salukis lead the all-time series with Austin Peay, 29-18. Southern is 7-11 against the Governors on the road. The two teams split their midweek meetings in 2022 with each winning their home matchup. The Govs enter Tuesday 1-2 on the year after dropping a weekend series to Illinois State in Normal to open the season.
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.
UP NEXT
SIU travels to Jacksonville State for a weekend series with the Gamecocks beginning Friday.
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
LHP
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C
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OF
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INF
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INF
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RHP
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