Wednesday, May 24
Terre Haute, IN
8 AM CT / 9 AM ET
Southern Illinois University
vs
Evansville
Salukis Open MVC Championship Wednesday Against No. 4 Evansville
05/23/2023 | 7:40:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois baseball program heads to Terre Haute, Indiana for the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The No. 3 Salukis will open the eight-team double-elimination tournament on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. CT/9 a.m. ET against No. 3 Evansville at Bob Warn Field.
THE SCHEDULE & BRACKET
Click HERE to view the complete bracket and tournament schedule. You can also find more information by visiting the Championship Central page HERE.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saluki Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on 103.5 FM, SIUSalukis.com, the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store, as well as the Varsity Sports Network App. All games throughout the tournament will be streamed on ESPN Plus. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• The Salukis finished the regular season third (15-12) behind Indiana State and Missouri State.
• SIU is 20-1 in games when leading after eight innings and 18-3 when leading after seven innings.
• SIU is 70-of-85 on stolen bases which leads the MVC. Boucher has 19 and Vallee has 15 stolen bases.
• Southern closed out the season 19-9 at home. Under Rhodes, SIU is 74-24 in Carbondale in four seasons.
• Head coach Lance Rhodes is four wins away from tying Joe Lutz (1966-69) in career wins. The skipper is 126-67 in four seasons and currently ranks fourth in program history with a .653 career win percentage.
AT THE PLATE
• SIU leads the MVC in hitting (.288), hits (557), doubles (115), and total bases (924). The Salukis are second in slugging (.477), home runs (76) and runs scored (364).
• Southern is 13-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- and just 10-13 when hitting one home run.
• SIU has hit the third-most home runs in a single season with 76 in 55 games, averaging 1.38 home runs per game. SIU broke the single-season home run record in each of the last two seasons (88 in 2022 & 84 in 2021).
• 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 9.9 (58th nationally) at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.8 at bats.
• Steven Loden's 54 RBIs are the 30th most in program history in a single season. He would need just 60 RBIs to move into the top 10.
ON THE MOUND
• As a staff, SIU is averaging the third most strikeouts per nine innings in program history at 8.11 K/9. The records date back to the 1959 season. The leading pitching staffs are from the 2021 season (8.64) and 2022 (8.12).
• 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.
• Senior Matthew Steidl enters the tournament ranking sixth in program history with 94 appearances on the mound.
IN THE FIELD
• SIU leads the nation in double plays with 57 turned over 55 games. It's tied for the ninth-most double plays turned in program history. SIU's 1.04 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country.
• The Salukis have the second-best fielding in the MVC with a .979 fielding percent. During conference action, SIU led the league with a .985 fielding percentage and committed just 15 errors.
• Cole Christman is tied for the most runners thrown out, sending 17 baserunners back to the dugout.
• Steven Loden committed just two errors all season at second base.
THE MVC TOURNAMENT
• SIU enters the tournament with an all-time record of 64-71.
• In 41 total tries, the No. 3 seed has claimed the title five times.
• The Salukis have won the MVC Tournament five times with the last time coming during the 1990 season -- the last time SIU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• After taking two of three earlier this season in Carbondale, the Salukis lead the series with Evansville 118-69. The two squads have met 11 times in the MVC Tournament with SIU leading 6-5.
BASH BROS
• The duo of Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher continue to hammer the ball out of the park. Loden is second in the MVC in home runs with 18 which also ranks second in program history in single-season home runs. Boucher has 15 bombs to rank fifth in single-season homers. The two have combined for 33 home runs which are tied for the most by any duo in Saluki history.
MVC POSTSEASON HONORS
• Six players from the Southern Illinois baseball program earned spots on the All-Missouri Valley Conference teams, the league announced Monday. Pier-Olivier Boucher, Cole Christman, Jake Combs, and Steven Loden were named to the Second Team while Paul Bonzagni and Matt Schark picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
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 & BRACKET
Click HERE to view the complete bracket and tournament schedule. You can also find more information by visiting the Championship Central page HERE.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saluki Hall-of-Famer Mike Reis will have the call on 103.5 FM, SIUSalukis.com, the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store, as well as the Varsity Sports Network App. All games throughout the tournament will be streamed on ESPN Plus. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• The Salukis finished the regular season third (15-12) behind Indiana State and Missouri State.
• SIU is 20-1 in games when leading after eight innings and 18-3 when leading after seven innings.
• SIU is 70-of-85 on stolen bases which leads the MVC. Boucher has 19 and Vallee has 15 stolen bases.
• Southern closed out the season 19-9 at home. Under Rhodes, SIU is 74-24 in Carbondale in four seasons.
• Head coach Lance Rhodes is four wins away from tying Joe Lutz (1966-69) in career wins. The skipper is 126-67 in four seasons and currently ranks fourth in program history with a .653 career win percentage.
AT THE PLATE
• SIU leads the MVC in hitting (.288), hits (557), doubles (115), and total bases (924). The Salukis are second in slugging (.477), home runs (76) and runs scored (364).
• Southern is 13-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- and just 10-13 when hitting one home run.
• SIU has hit the third-most home runs in a single season with 76 in 55 games, averaging 1.38 home runs per game. SIU broke the single-season home run record in each of the last two seasons (88 in 2022 & 84 in 2021).
• 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 9.9 (58th nationally) at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.8 at bats.
• Steven Loden's 54 RBIs are the 30th most in program history in a single season. He would need just 60 RBIs to move into the top 10.
ON THE MOUND
• As a staff, SIU is averaging the third most strikeouts per nine innings in program history at 8.11 K/9. The records date back to the 1959 season. The leading pitching staffs are from the 2021 season (8.64) and 2022 (8.12).
• 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.
• Senior Matthew Steidl enters the tournament ranking sixth in program history with 94 appearances on the mound.
IN THE FIELD
• SIU leads the nation in double plays with 57 turned over 55 games. It's tied for the ninth-most double plays turned in program history. SIU's 1.04 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country.
• The Salukis have the second-best fielding in the MVC with a .979 fielding percent. During conference action, SIU led the league with a .985 fielding percentage and committed just 15 errors.
• Cole Christman is tied for the most runners thrown out, sending 17 baserunners back to the dugout.
• Steven Loden committed just two errors all season at second base.
THE MVC TOURNAMENT
• SIU enters the tournament with an all-time record of 64-71.
• In 41 total tries, the No. 3 seed has claimed the title five times.
• The Salukis have won the MVC Tournament five times with the last time coming during the 1990 season -- the last time SIU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• After taking two of three earlier this season in Carbondale, the Salukis lead the series with Evansville 118-69. The two squads have met 11 times in the MVC Tournament with SIU leading 6-5.
BASH BROS
• The duo of Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher continue to hammer the ball out of the park. Loden is second in the MVC in home runs with 18 which also ranks second in program history in single-season home runs. Boucher has 15 bombs to rank fifth in single-season homers. The two have combined for 33 home runs which are tied for the most by any duo in Saluki history.
MVC POSTSEASON HONORS
• Six players from the Southern Illinois baseball program earned spots on the All-Missouri Valley Conference teams, the league announced Monday. Pier-Olivier Boucher, Cole Christman, Jake Combs, and Steven Loden were named to the Second Team while Paul Bonzagni and Matt Schark picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
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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INF
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RHP
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