Tuesday, February 28
Carbondale, IL
3 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Saint Louis
Photo by: Will Becque
Salukis Host Saint Louis in Home Opener Tuesday
02/27/2023 | 2:08:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Saluki baseball opens its 2023 home slate Tuesday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium as the Billikens of Saint Louis come to town. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and admission is free.
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday – 3 p.m. | No TV Broadcast
LISTEN
Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on SIUSalukis.com/Listen.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SIU RHP Jake Combs (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP) vs SLU RHP Dawson Smith (0-1, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP)
AROUND THE HORN
• Head coach Lance 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.
• 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.
• Kaeber Rog has an on-base streak of 28 games extending back to April 29 of last season.
• SIU has hit 14 home runs and 15 doubles in eight games -- to put together a .488 slugging percentage.
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Kaeber Rob ranks 10th in the nation and first in the MVC after drawing 10 walks in eight games.
• SIU currently leads the MVC in home runs (17) and hits (75) and is second in runs (54), doubles (15), triples (2), and on-base percentage (.349).
• Jake Combs put together a strong outing during opening weekend, going five innings allowing only one run, four hits, and striking out three in the win versus Towson.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern is coming off a series loss on the road at Jacksonville State, dropping two of three to the Gamecocks. SIU won the opener, 8-7 before losing the final two games of the series.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher put together a strong week on the diamond, leading SIU with a .471 average over four games. The Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Quebec native tallied eight hits in 17 at bats while also drawing a pair of walks. Two of the eight hits for Boucher came in the form of home runs.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
• The Salukis lead the nation in double plays (13) and double plays turned per game (1.62).
NEW BLOOD
• 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. 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 home runs in the same game to join the group of eight Salukis to have their first hit be a home run.
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 MATCHUP
• Saint Louis enters play at 3-3 on the season and is coming off a weekend sweep of Minnesota. The Billikens outscored the Gophers 30-15 over the weekend series played in Fort Myers. SLU dropped a weekend series to Marshall during opening weekend.
• SIU leads the series with Saint Louis 61-19 with the last meeting coming in the 2019 season. The two squads were set to meet in 2022, but the game was canceled.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will play host to Ohio for a weekend series beginning March 3 at Itchy Jones Stadium. First pitch Friday is set for 3 p.m. with games two and three of the series set for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. Admission is free-of-charge.
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
Tuesday – 3 p.m. | No TV Broadcast
LISTEN
Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on SIUSalukis.com/Listen.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SIU RHP Jake Combs (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP) vs SLU RHP Dawson Smith (0-1, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP)
AROUND THE HORN
• Head coach Lance 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.
• 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.
• Kaeber Rog has an on-base streak of 28 games extending back to April 29 of last season.
• SIU has hit 14 home runs and 15 doubles in eight games -- to put together a .488 slugging percentage.
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Kaeber Rob ranks 10th in the nation and first in the MVC after drawing 10 walks in eight games.
• SIU currently leads the MVC in home runs (17) and hits (75) and is second in runs (54), doubles (15), triples (2), and on-base percentage (.349).
• Jake Combs put together a strong outing during opening weekend, going five innings allowing only one run, four hits, and striking out three in the win versus Towson.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern is coming off a series loss on the road at Jacksonville State, dropping two of three to the Gamecocks. SIU won the opener, 8-7 before losing the final two games of the series.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher put together a strong week on the diamond, leading SIU with a .471 average over four games. The Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Quebec native tallied eight hits in 17 at bats while also drawing a pair of walks. Two of the eight hits for Boucher came in the form of home runs.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
• The Salukis lead the nation in double plays (13) and double plays turned per game (1.62).
NEW BLOOD
• 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. 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 home runs in the same game to join the group of eight Salukis to have their first hit be a home run.
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 MATCHUP
• Saint Louis enters play at 3-3 on the season and is coming off a weekend sweep of Minnesota. The Billikens outscored the Gophers 30-15 over the weekend series played in Fort Myers. SLU dropped a weekend series to Marshall during opening weekend.
• SIU leads the series with Saint Louis 61-19 with the last meeting coming in the 2019 season. The two squads were set to meet in 2022, but the game was canceled.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will play host to Ohio for a weekend series beginning March 3 at Itchy Jones Stadium. First pitch Friday is set for 3 p.m. with games two and three of the series set for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. Admission is free-of-charge.
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
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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