Friday, May 12
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Missouri St.
Salukis Host Missouri State for Important Series; Senior Day Set for Sunday
05/11/2023 | 11:01:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball will play an important series this weekend as the Salukis host Missouri State in its final three home games of the season. The Bears enter play in second-place in the standings with a three-game lead over SIU with two weeks remaining in the season.
The Salukis will honor 11 seniors prior to Sunday's finale including: Jordan Bloemer, Pier-Olivier Boucher, Ben Chapman, Zack Jensen, Tanner Lewis, Nate Lyons, Kaden Peterson, Jack Rigoni, Kaeber Rog, Ryan Rodriguez and Matthew Steidl.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday – 6 PM – ESPN+
Saturday – 2 PM – ESPN3
Sunday – 12 PM – ESPN+
* Weather may play a factor this weekend. Stay tuned to @SIU_Baseball on Twitter and SIUSalukis.com for the latest updates.
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 ESPN Plus throughout the weekend. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern is 18-7 at home this season. Under Rhodes, SIU is 73-22 in Carbondale in four seasons.
• The Salukis lead the nation in double plays with 55 turned over 49 games. It's the 10th-most double plays turned in program history. SIU's 1.12 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country.
• SIU is 13-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- SIU had six homers during the Valpo series.
• SIU has already hit the fifth-most home runs in a single season with 69 in 49 games, averaging 1.41 home runs per game. Southern has broken the single-season home run record in each of the last two seasons (88 in 2022 & 84 in 2021).
• Paul Bonzagni's eight wins are the third most wins for a Saluki pitcher since 1990 -- the last time SIU went to the NCAA Tournament. Cody Adams had 11 wins in 2007 while six pitchers have had nine wins.
• SIU is 18-0 in games when leading after eight innings and 16-1 when leading after seven innings.
• The top two spots in the MVC in toughest to strikeout belong to SIU's Steven Loden and Nathan Bandy. Loden strikes out once every 10.8 (39th nationally) at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.9 at bats.
• SIU is 64-of-78 on stolen bases which leads the MVC. Boucher and Vallee lead SIU with 15 stolen bases.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• Southern Illinois and Missouri State have met 125 prior to this weekend with the Bears holding a 77-48 series advantage of the Salukis. Southern is 19-36 against MSU overall in Carbondale but has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two programs. After SIU swept MSU in the regular season last season on the road in Springfield, Missouri State defeated SIU in the MVC Tournament twice to end SIU's season.
• The Bears enter play at 29-17 overall and 16-5 in League play with a three-game lead over SIU in the MVC standings with two weekend series remaining on the docket. The Bears boast the MVC's second-best hitting offense (.282/81 HR/.506 SLG) as well as the second-best pitching staff (4.70 ERA/430 K).
• MSU is led by Spencer Nivens at the dish with a .363 average to go with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. Four hitters are over the .300 mark and the team leads the MVC in home runs (81) by 12 with SIU in second with 69. The MSU weekend rotation is a combined 15-4.
THE BIG FLY
• Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher each continue to move up the SIU single-season home run list after a solid weekend on the road at Valpo. Loden hit two home runs against the Beacons and one against SIUE, bringing his season total to 16 on the season which ranks tied for third-best in a single season. Boucher also tallied a pair of home runs to move to 14 on the season which is tied for seventh best.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Salukis are coming off a 6-5 midweek win over SIUE in which SIU recorded its sixth walk-off win of the season.
• Matt Schark drove in the winning run in the 10th – his third walk-off of the season.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Murray State next Thursday for the final MVC series of the season.
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 Salukis will honor 11 seniors prior to Sunday's finale including: Jordan Bloemer, Pier-Olivier Boucher, Ben Chapman, Zack Jensen, Tanner Lewis, Nate Lyons, Kaden Peterson, Jack Rigoni, Kaeber Rog, Ryan Rodriguez and Matthew Steidl.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday – 6 PM – ESPN+
Saturday – 2 PM – ESPN3
Sunday – 12 PM – ESPN+
* Weather may play a factor this weekend. Stay tuned to @SIU_Baseball on Twitter and SIUSalukis.com for the latest updates.
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 ESPN Plus throughout the weekend. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern is 18-7 at home this season. Under Rhodes, SIU is 73-22 in Carbondale in four seasons.
• The Salukis lead the nation in double plays with 55 turned over 49 games. It's the 10th-most double plays turned in program history. SIU's 1.12 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country.
• SIU is 13-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- SIU had six homers during the Valpo series.
• SIU has already hit the fifth-most home runs in a single season with 69 in 49 games, averaging 1.41 home runs per game. Southern has broken the single-season home run record in each of the last two seasons (88 in 2022 & 84 in 2021).
• Paul Bonzagni's eight wins are the third most wins for a Saluki pitcher since 1990 -- the last time SIU went to the NCAA Tournament. Cody Adams had 11 wins in 2007 while six pitchers have had nine wins.
• SIU is 18-0 in games when leading after eight innings and 16-1 when leading after seven innings.
• The top two spots in the MVC in toughest to strikeout belong to SIU's Steven Loden and Nathan Bandy. Loden strikes out once every 10.8 (39th nationally) at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.9 at bats.
• SIU is 64-of-78 on stolen bases which leads the MVC. Boucher and Vallee lead SIU with 15 stolen bases.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• Southern Illinois and Missouri State have met 125 prior to this weekend with the Bears holding a 77-48 series advantage of the Salukis. Southern is 19-36 against MSU overall in Carbondale but has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two programs. After SIU swept MSU in the regular season last season on the road in Springfield, Missouri State defeated SIU in the MVC Tournament twice to end SIU's season.
• The Bears enter play at 29-17 overall and 16-5 in League play with a three-game lead over SIU in the MVC standings with two weekend series remaining on the docket. The Bears boast the MVC's second-best hitting offense (.282/81 HR/.506 SLG) as well as the second-best pitching staff (4.70 ERA/430 K).
• MSU is led by Spencer Nivens at the dish with a .363 average to go with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. Four hitters are over the .300 mark and the team leads the MVC in home runs (81) by 12 with SIU in second with 69. The MSU weekend rotation is a combined 15-4.
THE BIG FLY
• Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher each continue to move up the SIU single-season home run list after a solid weekend on the road at Valpo. Loden hit two home runs against the Beacons and one against SIUE, bringing his season total to 16 on the season which ranks tied for third-best in a single season. Boucher also tallied a pair of home runs to move to 14 on the season which is tied for seventh best.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Salukis are coming off a 6-5 midweek win over SIUE in which SIU recorded its sixth walk-off win of the season.
• Matt Schark drove in the winning run in the 10th – his third walk-off of the season.
UP NEXT
The Salukis travel to Murray State next Thursday for the final MVC series of the season.
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.
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