Southern Illinois University
South Dakota State
Preview | Saluki Softball Heads to UCA for Michelle Short Memorial Classic
02/22/2024 | 7:03:00 | Softball
Conway, Ark. - Southern Illinois gets ready for its third road trip of the season as it heads to the University of Central Arkansas for the Michelle Short Memorial Classic. The Salukis will take on South Dakota State, Central Arkansas, and Purdue twice before returning home on Sunday. The tournament central page can be found here.Â
Last weekend, Southern was only able to get a pair of games in due to the weather in Florida. Despite the dreary weather, the Salukis were able to take down UC Riverside and Iowa in back-to-back games on Friday before the last three games were canceled. Currently sitting at 5-2, the Salukis have struggled to find runs at times but have been led by a pitching staff currently with a 2.00 ERA (50th in the NCAA).Â
South Dakota State enters the weekend 5-5 prior to its doubleheader with Purdue and SIU on Friday. The Jackrabbits have had much success in recent years, winning each of the last three Summit League regular season titles as well as a pair of Summit League Tournament Championships in 2021 and 2022. The Salukis' matchup with SDSU will be a first with zero prior meetings in the past.Â
The Salukis will then go on to play a doubleheader on Saturday followed by one final game on Sunday at 12:30 against Purdue. SIU will begin its Saturday doubleheader with a scheduled first pitch for 4pm against host Central Arkansas before taking on the Boilermakers for a 6:30 start Saturday night.Â
Central Arkansas is 2-8 on the year but has had several close games in what's been a tough schedule including a pair of games against reigning National Champs Oklahoma. Despite the Bearcats slow start, UCA is coming off of an NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago after winning both the ASUN Tournament and regular season championships while going 45-12 on the year.Â
The Salukis' final two games will be played against Purdue, one on Saturday night and once on Sunday. It'll be the second time this season SIU will take on an opponent from the Big Ten after defeating Iowa 4-1 at The Spring Games. The Boilermakers are under the direction of first-year head coach Magail Frezzotti and are off to a solid start in 2024. With a 5-2 record, Purdue's only two losses came to No. 6 Georgia in a 1-6 and 1-5 loss during the opening weekend.Â
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Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Softball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball and on Instagram at @SIU_Softball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
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