Friday, May 5
Valparaiso, IN
3 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Valparaiso
Baseball Salukis Travel to Valparaiso for Weekend Series
05/04/2023 | 10:41:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball hits the road for a weekend series at Valparaiso starting Friday afternoon. The Salukis sit in third place in the MVC with three weekend series remaining on the schedule.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Friday – 3 PM – ESPN+
Saturday – 1 PM – ESPN3
Sunday – 1 PM – ESPN+
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 and ESPN3 throughout the weekend. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern Illinois baseball looks to rebound from a series loss to Illinois State last weekend as the Salukis travel to Valparaiso, Indiana for a weekend series with the Beacons starting Friday.
• SIU has dropped six of their last eight games which included three games against nationally ranked Indiana State. Southern snapped a two-game skid with a midweek win over USI on Tuesday.
• SIU has five walk-off wins this season with the last coming in midweek action against Austin Peay.
• Southern Illinois continues to lead the nation in double plays with 51 turned over 45 games. SIU's 1.13 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country. SIU has turned 14 double plays in MVC play.
• The Salukis are 12-2 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- SIU had three last game vs USI.
• SIU has already hit the fifth-most home runs in a single season with 62 in 45 games, averaging 1.38 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).
• SIU is 15-0 in games when leading after eight innings and 13-1 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 9.9 at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.1 at bats. Loden's mark is 60th best among all batters in the country.
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 14 multi-RBI games. He has three four-RBI outings.
• SIU is 56-of-69 on stolen bases which is tied for first in the MVC with Illinois State and Belmont.
• Southern is 3-3 in extra-inning games this season, falling in 12 innings to Illinois State Sunday.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• Southern Illinois and Valparaiso have met 17 times prior to the weekend with the Beacons holding a 10-7 advantage in the series. Since joining the MVC in the 2017-18 season, Valpo has won eight games while ISU has won six. Southern is 1-6 on the road against Valpo all-time with the last road win coming in 2021 in a 10-4 win. The two teams met just three times before Valpo joined the MVC. SIU lost the first game in 1966, 4-3 in 11 innings before splitting two games in Carbondale during the 2007 season.
• Valparaiso enters the weekend 16-19 overall and 7-11 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Beacons have dropped four-straight games after being swept on the road at Missouri State last weekend. The last two midweek games (at Purdue/at Western Michigan) for Valpo have been canceled due to weather. Valpo currently has 16 wins, which was the team's final win total each of the last two seasons. That comes despite the fact that six games have been canceled and not made up and 10 games still remain on the regular-season schedule.
• Valpo ranks fifth in the MVC with a .273 team batting average and is led by Ryan Maka at .341 with six home runs and 27 RBI. Kyle Schmack is the only other Beacon over .300 with a .302 average and a team-high nine doubles to go with 26 RBIs. As a pitching staff, Valpo holds a 6.74 ERA led by reliever Bobby Nowak who holds a 3.50 ERA. In 295 innings, Valparaiso pitching has retired 270 batters on strikeouts while walking 163. Opponents are hitting .287 against Beacons pitching over 35 games.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Salukis are coming off a 14-3 run-rule win over Southern Indiana last time out. The victory marked the season sweep for SIU over the Screamin' Eagles.
• Southern had three home runs in the game -- Steven Loden, Zack Jenson, Bennett Eltoft.
• SIU outhit USI 15-6 in the game, led by Kaeber Rog and Steven Loden who had three hits each.
UP NEXT
The Salukis host SIUE on Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium. First pitch is set for 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.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Friday – 3 PM – ESPN+
Saturday – 1 PM – ESPN3
Sunday – 1 PM – ESPN+
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 and ESPN3 throughout the weekend. Live stats for the game are also available on SIUSalukis.com.
AROUND THE HORN
• Southern Illinois baseball looks to rebound from a series loss to Illinois State last weekend as the Salukis travel to Valparaiso, Indiana for a weekend series with the Beacons starting Friday.
• SIU has dropped six of their last eight games which included three games against nationally ranked Indiana State. Southern snapped a two-game skid with a midweek win over USI on Tuesday.
• SIU has five walk-off wins this season with the last coming in midweek action against Austin Peay.
• Southern Illinois continues to lead the nation in double plays with 51 turned over 45 games. SIU's 1.13 double plays turned per game are also tops in the country. SIU has turned 14 double plays in MVC play.
• The Salukis are 12-2 in games when they hit two or more home runs -- SIU had three last game vs USI.
• SIU has already hit the fifth-most home runs in a single season with 62 in 45 games, averaging 1.38 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).
• SIU is 15-0 in games when leading after eight innings and 13-1 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 9.9 at bats while Bandy strikes out once every 9.1 at bats. Loden's mark is 60th best among all batters in the country.
• Steven Loden leads SIU with 14 multi-RBI games. He has three four-RBI outings.
• SIU is 56-of-69 on stolen bases which is tied for first in the MVC with Illinois State and Belmont.
• Southern is 3-3 in extra-inning games this season, falling in 12 innings to Illinois State Sunday.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
• Southern Illinois and Valparaiso have met 17 times prior to the weekend with the Beacons holding a 10-7 advantage in the series. Since joining the MVC in the 2017-18 season, Valpo has won eight games while ISU has won six. Southern is 1-6 on the road against Valpo all-time with the last road win coming in 2021 in a 10-4 win. The two teams met just three times before Valpo joined the MVC. SIU lost the first game in 1966, 4-3 in 11 innings before splitting two games in Carbondale during the 2007 season.
• Valparaiso enters the weekend 16-19 overall and 7-11 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Beacons have dropped four-straight games after being swept on the road at Missouri State last weekend. The last two midweek games (at Purdue/at Western Michigan) for Valpo have been canceled due to weather. Valpo currently has 16 wins, which was the team's final win total each of the last two seasons. That comes despite the fact that six games have been canceled and not made up and 10 games still remain on the regular-season schedule.
• Valpo ranks fifth in the MVC with a .273 team batting average and is led by Ryan Maka at .341 with six home runs and 27 RBI. Kyle Schmack is the only other Beacon over .300 with a .302 average and a team-high nine doubles to go with 26 RBIs. As a pitching staff, Valpo holds a 6.74 ERA led by reliever Bobby Nowak who holds a 3.50 ERA. In 295 innings, Valparaiso pitching has retired 270 batters on strikeouts while walking 163. Opponents are hitting .287 against Beacons pitching over 35 games.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Salukis are coming off a 14-3 run-rule win over Southern Indiana last time out. The victory marked the season sweep for SIU over the Screamin' Eagles.
• Southern had three home runs in the game -- Steven Loden, Zack Jenson, Bennett Eltoft.
• SIU outhit USI 15-6 in the game, led by Kaeber Rog and Steven Loden who had three hits each.
UP NEXT
The Salukis host SIUE on Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium. First pitch is set for 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
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