Tuesday, April 11
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Southeast Missouri
Photo by: Abby Harris
Salukis Host SEMO Tuesday Night at The Itch
04/10/2023 | 1:02:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Winners of five-straight games, Southern Illinois baseball welcomes regional foe Southeast Missouri to Itchy Jones Stadium Tuesday night with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saluki Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on SIUSalukis.com, the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store, as well as the Varsity Sports Network App. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• SIU and Indiana State are tied at the top of the MVC standings at 8-1.
• Southern's 8-1 start to MVC play is the best in program history. SIU started conference play at 7-2 in 1990, 1996 and most recently in 1999.
• After sweeping Belmont, SIU has won 11-straight MVC weekend series dating back to the 2021 season.
• SIU leads the country in double plays turned (39) and double plays turned per game (1.22).
• Southern is 3-1 in extra-inning games after walking off Belmont twice last weekend.
• Three Salukis rank in the top-10 in the MVC in average (Bandy, Boucher, Christman).
• SIU leads the MVC in average (.288), slugging (.480) hits (323), runs (226) and home runs (48).
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Outfielder Mathieu Valle has dominated at the plate since the start of MVC play. The junior is batting .450 in six starts and eight games including two doubles and nine runs scored. Vallee entered League play with 12 hits in 22 games.
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 10 multi-RBI games. He has two four-RBI outings.
• Southern is 35-of-44 on stolen base attempts -- ranking third in the MVC. Southern has stolen 12 bases in the last eight games, going 12-for-14.
ON THE MOUND
Junior right-hander Jake Combs will make his eighth start of the season against the Redhawks. He enters the game 1-2 overall with a team-best ERA at 3.41. Combs holds one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios on the team with 23 punchouts and just six walks over 29 innings.
SEMO will start freshman righty Eddie White who holds a 5.87 ERA and an 0-1 record. He struck out 13 and issued just two walks in 15.1 innings on the mound.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• The Salukis lead the series with SEMO 59-30-1 and have won five-straight games in the series and 11 of the last 12 games. Southern is 34-13-1 at Itchy Jones Stadium against the Redhawks. SEMO enters Tuesday at 18-16 overall and 7-2 in the OVC. The Redhawks are coming off a series win over Southern Indiana after taking two of three from the Screamin' Eagles.
• Southeast Missouri is hitting .262 as a team with 48 doubles, eight triples and 34 home runs. SEMO is led by Jevon Mason with a .352 average on 43 hits to go with 23 RBIs. Josh Cameron is second on the squad with a .310 average while leading the team with eight home runs on 40 base hits. On the mound, the Redhawks hold a 5.14 combined ERA and have given up 189 earned runs in 34 games. SEMO has recorded 266 punchouts while issuing just 112 walks in 290.2 innings. Reliever Hunter Ralls has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen and holds a 1-0 record and a team-best 2.42 ERA. He has 15 strikeouts in 22.1 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern picked up its 11th-straight MVC series win with a sweep of Belmont. The Salukis went to extra-innings against the Bruins on Thursday and Saturday -- recording walk-off wins in both games.
• SIU did not allow a home run over the weekend -- extending the streak to five games.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher has recorded multiple hits in seven of his last eight games, increasing his average from .324 to .358 over the stretch.
STRONG LAST WEEK
• Right-hander Paul Bonzagni finished the week 2-0 for the Salukis in a pair of relief appearances to improve to 5-2 on the season. The redshirt sophomore pitched 8.1 innings, allowing just one run to finish with a 1.08 ERA. He struck out five and allowed just four hits while holding opponents to a .138 average against. Both appearances came during a weekend sweep of Belmont. On Thursday, Bonzagni pitched 3.1 innings and struck out four Bruins, allowing just one run on two hits. Bonzagni came back with one of his best outings of the year on Saturday during the finale, pitching five complete innings as the Salukis walked off Belmont in 12 innings. In the finale, the righty allowed just two base hits and struck out one.
• Nathan Bandy led the Salukis over a 4-0 stretch in the last week with a .429 average, an .857 slugging percentage and a .600 on base percentage. The junior was six for 14 at the plate while also drawing a team-best six walks. Bandy drove in four runs and scored six times for the Salukis. Bandy recorded three doubles in the four games, Against Lindenwood in midweek action, bandy was 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks.
UP NEXT
Southern will play host to Evansville this weekend for Alumni Weekend when SIU will retire the late Dan Callahan's No. 37 on April 15. More details can be found here.
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.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saluki Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on SIUSalukis.com, the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store, as well as the Varsity Sports Network App. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• SIU and Indiana State are tied at the top of the MVC standings at 8-1.
• Southern's 8-1 start to MVC play is the best in program history. SIU started conference play at 7-2 in 1990, 1996 and most recently in 1999.
• After sweeping Belmont, SIU has won 11-straight MVC weekend series dating back to the 2021 season.
• SIU leads the country in double plays turned (39) and double plays turned per game (1.22).
• Southern is 3-1 in extra-inning games after walking off Belmont twice last weekend.
• Three Salukis rank in the top-10 in the MVC in average (Bandy, Boucher, Christman).
• SIU leads the MVC in average (.288), slugging (.480) hits (323), runs (226) and home runs (48).
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Outfielder Mathieu Valle has dominated at the plate since the start of MVC play. The junior is batting .450 in six starts and eight games including two doubles and nine runs scored. Vallee entered League play with 12 hits in 22 games.
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 10 multi-RBI games. He has two four-RBI outings.
• Southern is 35-of-44 on stolen base attempts -- ranking third in the MVC. Southern has stolen 12 bases in the last eight games, going 12-for-14.
ON THE MOUND
Junior right-hander Jake Combs will make his eighth start of the season against the Redhawks. He enters the game 1-2 overall with a team-best ERA at 3.41. Combs holds one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios on the team with 23 punchouts and just six walks over 29 innings.
SEMO will start freshman righty Eddie White who holds a 5.87 ERA and an 0-1 record. He struck out 13 and issued just two walks in 15.1 innings on the mound.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• The Salukis lead the series with SEMO 59-30-1 and have won five-straight games in the series and 11 of the last 12 games. Southern is 34-13-1 at Itchy Jones Stadium against the Redhawks. SEMO enters Tuesday at 18-16 overall and 7-2 in the OVC. The Redhawks are coming off a series win over Southern Indiana after taking two of three from the Screamin' Eagles.
• Southeast Missouri is hitting .262 as a team with 48 doubles, eight triples and 34 home runs. SEMO is led by Jevon Mason with a .352 average on 43 hits to go with 23 RBIs. Josh Cameron is second on the squad with a .310 average while leading the team with eight home runs on 40 base hits. On the mound, the Redhawks hold a 5.14 combined ERA and have given up 189 earned runs in 34 games. SEMO has recorded 266 punchouts while issuing just 112 walks in 290.2 innings. Reliever Hunter Ralls has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen and holds a 1-0 record and a team-best 2.42 ERA. He has 15 strikeouts in 22.1 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern picked up its 11th-straight MVC series win with a sweep of Belmont. The Salukis went to extra-innings against the Bruins on Thursday and Saturday -- recording walk-off wins in both games.
• SIU did not allow a home run over the weekend -- extending the streak to five games.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher has recorded multiple hits in seven of his last eight games, increasing his average from .324 to .358 over the stretch.
STRONG LAST WEEK
• Right-hander Paul Bonzagni finished the week 2-0 for the Salukis in a pair of relief appearances to improve to 5-2 on the season. The redshirt sophomore pitched 8.1 innings, allowing just one run to finish with a 1.08 ERA. He struck out five and allowed just four hits while holding opponents to a .138 average against. Both appearances came during a weekend sweep of Belmont. On Thursday, Bonzagni pitched 3.1 innings and struck out four Bruins, allowing just one run on two hits. Bonzagni came back with one of his best outings of the year on Saturday during the finale, pitching five complete innings as the Salukis walked off Belmont in 12 innings. In the finale, the righty allowed just two base hits and struck out one.
• Nathan Bandy led the Salukis over a 4-0 stretch in the last week with a .429 average, an .857 slugging percentage and a .600 on base percentage. The junior was six for 14 at the plate while also drawing a team-best six walks. Bandy drove in four runs and scored six times for the Salukis. Bandy recorded three doubles in the four games, Against Lindenwood in midweek action, bandy was 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks.
UP NEXT
Southern will play host to Evansville this weekend for Alumni Weekend when SIU will retire the late Dan Callahan's No. 37 on April 15. More details can be found here.
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
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RHP
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OF
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RHP
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INF
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