Thursday, April 6
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Belmont
Pivotal Valley Matchup On Deck For Saluki Baseball Starting Thursday
04/05/2023 | 1:03:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Saluki baseball plays host to Belmont in a weekend series beginning Thursday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. Both teams enter the series tied at the top of the MVC standings at 5-1.
SCHEDULE
Thursday - 6 PM - ESPN+
Friday - 6 PM - ESPN+
Saturday - 2 PM - ESPN3
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. The games will air on Watch ESPN with Mike Trude and Dominic Hoscher on the call. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Winners of eight of its last nine, SIU enters a pivotal weekend series with Belmont at home.
• Entering the weekend, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, and Belmont sit atop the MVC standings at 5-1.
• With the series win over the Bradley last weekend in Peoria, SIU has won 10-straight MVC weekend series dating back to the 2021 season.
• SIU leads the country in double plays turned (38) and double plays turned per game (1.31).
• Two Salukis rank in the top-10 in the MVC in average (Bandy, Boucher).
• SIU leads the MVC in average (.289), slugging (.485) hits (291) and home runs (44).
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 10 multi-RBI games. He has two four-RBI outings.
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Southern is 35-of-43 on stolen base attempts -- ranking third in the MVC. Southern has stolen 12 bases in the last five games, going 12-for-13.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• For the first time as conference foes, Southern Illinois and Belmont will meet for the 14th time this weekend in Carbondale. The Salukis lead the series 8-5 claiming four of the last five meetings with the Bruins. Belmont snapped SIU's four-game streak the last time the clubs met in 2020 with a 4-3 win in Nashville. SIU is 4-2 at home all-time against Belmont. The clubs have never met in a weekend series until this season.
• The Bruins enter play at 18-12 overall and 5-1 in Valley play. Winners of four-straight games, Belmont claimed a weekend sweep on the road at Evansville before defeating Tennessee Tech in a midweek matchup Tuesday night in Nashville. As a club, Belmont is hitting .257 with a .414 slugging percentage and a .346 on-base percentage. Sam Kirkpatrick (.364) and Blake Barton (.310) lead the Bruins at the plate. Barton has a team-best 11 doubles and 24 RBIs in 29 starts.
• On the mound, the Bruins hold a 4.36 combined ERA and have given up 126 earned runs in 30 games. Belmont has recorded 248 punchouts while issuing just 118 walks in 260 innings. Reliever Jett Thiekle has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen and holds a 4-0 record. He has 23 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern picked up its second consecutive run-rule victory Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium, defeating Lindenwood, 14-2.
• SIU smashed four home runs in the win, including back-to-back home runs to begin the game.
• Southern took advantage of 10 Lindenwood walks in the win. Kaeber Rog had three walks to lead SIU.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher continued his hot streak, connecting on a trio of base hits. He has five-straight multi-hit games.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will host SEMO Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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.
SCHEDULE
Thursday - 6 PM - ESPN+
Friday - 6 PM - ESPN+
Saturday - 2 PM - ESPN3
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. The games will air on Watch ESPN with Mike Trude and Dominic Hoscher on the call. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Winners of eight of its last nine, SIU enters a pivotal weekend series with Belmont at home.
• Entering the weekend, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, and Belmont sit atop the MVC standings at 5-1.
• With the series win over the Bradley last weekend in Peoria, SIU has won 10-straight MVC weekend series dating back to the 2021 season.
• SIU leads the country in double plays turned (38) and double plays turned per game (1.31).
• Two Salukis rank in the top-10 in the MVC in average (Bandy, Boucher).
• SIU leads the MVC in average (.289), slugging (.485) hits (291) and home runs (44).
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 10 multi-RBI games. He has two four-RBI outings.
• The Salukis have broken the single-season home run mark in the last two years (88-2022, 84-2021).
• Southern is 35-of-43 on stolen base attempts -- ranking third in the MVC. Southern has stolen 12 bases in the last five games, going 12-for-13.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• For the first time as conference foes, Southern Illinois and Belmont will meet for the 14th time this weekend in Carbondale. The Salukis lead the series 8-5 claiming four of the last five meetings with the Bruins. Belmont snapped SIU's four-game streak the last time the clubs met in 2020 with a 4-3 win in Nashville. SIU is 4-2 at home all-time against Belmont. The clubs have never met in a weekend series until this season.
• The Bruins enter play at 18-12 overall and 5-1 in Valley play. Winners of four-straight games, Belmont claimed a weekend sweep on the road at Evansville before defeating Tennessee Tech in a midweek matchup Tuesday night in Nashville. As a club, Belmont is hitting .257 with a .414 slugging percentage and a .346 on-base percentage. Sam Kirkpatrick (.364) and Blake Barton (.310) lead the Bruins at the plate. Barton has a team-best 11 doubles and 24 RBIs in 29 starts.
• On the mound, the Bruins hold a 4.36 combined ERA and have given up 126 earned runs in 30 games. Belmont has recorded 248 punchouts while issuing just 118 walks in 260 innings. Reliever Jett Thiekle has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen and holds a 4-0 record. He has 23 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT
• Southern picked up its second consecutive run-rule victory Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium, defeating Lindenwood, 14-2.
• SIU smashed four home runs in the win, including back-to-back home runs to begin the game.
• Southern took advantage of 10 Lindenwood walks in the win. Kaeber Rog had three walks to lead SIU.
• Pier-Olivier Boucher continued his hot streak, connecting on a trio of base hits. He has five-straight multi-hit games.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will host SEMO Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Vinson Davis
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - DJ Williams
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Chris Presto
Sunday, September 21
9.21.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at SEMO - Nick Hill
Sunday, September 21