Preview | Salukis Play Host to Appalachian State for Weekend Series

Friday, March 1

Carbondale, IL

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

Appalachian State

Photo by: Saluki Athletic Communications

Preview | Salukis Play Host to Appalachian State for Weekend Series

02/29/2024 | 3:41:00 | Baseball

By: Tim McCaughan, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball will welcome Appalachian State to Itchy Jones Stadium this weekend for a three-game series marking the first time that the two programs have met.

THE SCHEDULE
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
Sunday – 12 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can listen to the games on The Varsity Network with Larry Larson and Luke Martin sharing play-by-play duties this weekend. Fans can also follow along via live stats or on Twitter @SIU_Baseball.

WEEKEND ROTATION
RHP Aidan Foeller (1-0, 4.70) vs RHP Bradley Wilson (1-0, 8.22)
LHP Al Holguin (0-0, 5.40) vs RHP Jackson Steensma (1-0, 4.50)
TBA vs TBA

AROUND THE HORN

The Salukis come into the contest at 5-3 overall after snapping a three-game skid Tuesday with a 10-8 win over Butler.
SIU opened the year sweeping Northwestern State before taking a midweek game at UT Martin. The three-game sweep of NSU marked the first time that SIU has swept a single opponent to open the season since 2017 when the Salukis defeated Stetson on the road. Southern did open the Lance Rhodes era in the 2021 season with three straight victories – however, the wins were over three different opponents.
Through two weekends of the 2024 season, Southern Illinois has drawn 77 walks to rank third in the nation.
SIU has seven players who have drawn five or more free passes led by infielder Jake Allgeyer who has drawn a team-high 14 walks to rank second in the country.
In eight games the Saluki offense has scored 95 runs to lead the Valley and rank ninth in the nation. It's 11.9 runs per game ranks eighth in the country. SIU has scored at least eight runs in each game it has played.
Steven Loden leads SIU with 15 RBIs and his 1.88 RBIs per game is 23^rd in the nation.
Anthony Kodama has a team-high four doubles and ranks fourth in the MVC in the category.
SIU is 12-for-13 on stolen base attempts. Jake Allgeyer, Jordan Bach, Mathieu Vallee, and Bennett Eltoft each have two stolen bases.

ON THE MOUND

SIU Friday night starter Aidan Foeller is 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA in two starts. He leads the team with 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
Ben Riffe has made three relief appearances and struck out six in 3.1 innings.
Alec Nigut bounced back for his first win at SIU on Tuesday. The lefty settled in to pitch five innings while retiring seven Butler batters on punchouts.
Southern's 8.92 team ERA ranks eighth in the MVC after eight games.
Opponents have collected 102 base hits and 47 walks.

RHODES AT THE HELM

Lance Rhodes enters his fifth season at the helm of the program, leading the team to 40 or more wins during two of the last three seasons -- including the first back-to-back 40-win seasons in program history (2021 & 22).
Rhodes holds an overall record of 131-72 and a 46-30 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.

THE SERIES & THE MATCHUP

This weekend series will mark the first meetings between the two programs.
The Mountaineers enter play at 7-1 with wins over Garnder-Webb, High Point, Siena and ETSU. App State is 4-1 on the road.
App State is coming off a 30-win season in 2023, their best since 2013, en route to a Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals appearance.
The team knocked off ranked Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss teams along the way and saw CJ Boyd and Xander Hamilton earn All-Conference honors.
App State has added 15 newcomers to their 2024 roster, in addition to 23 returning players. Boyd has also been named to the 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt team.
App State was picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll.

THE 2024 DAWGS

With a bevy of new faces on the roster, Southern Illinois will look to several key returners for leadership this season. The Salukis return starters Matt Schark (1B), Steven Loden (2B), Cole Christman (C) as well as outfielders Nathan Bandy and Bennett Eltoft to the lineup.
On the mound the Salukis return key pieces in Jake Combs, Easton Dermody, Scott Harper, Shane Wilhelm, Ben Riffe as well as Mike Hansell who missed last season with injury.
Like in previous seasons, the Salukis will have over 20 new pieces as the season begins with the roster consisting of just 18 seniors and 17 juniors.
SIU is the lone program at the Division I level consisting of only juniors and seniors.

THE BIG FLY

SIU's 10 home runs rank third in the MVC. Loden leads the team with five.
As a team, the Salukis hit the third-most home runs in program history in 2023 with 79 bombs, averaging 1.39 home runs per game.
Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher finished second and fourth, respectively in single-season home runs in 2023. Loden sent 18 homers out which ranked second while Boucher hit 16 home runs to tie for fourth place.

LET'S TURN TWO

The Salukis led the nation in double plays (61) and double plays turned per game (1.07) in 2023.
SIU has led the MVC in turning double plays in seven of the last 10 seasons. SIU led the MVC in double plays in 2013, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 2023. The Salukis were second in the MVC in 2016.
Southern has turned six double plays this season and has not hit into a double play in eight games.

WINNING AT THE ITCH

SIU started the Lance Rhodes era by winning 13 consecutive home games (5-0 in 2020 (COVID), started 8-0 in 2021). Overall, SIU is 75-24 at Itchy Jones Stadium under head coach Lance Rhodes.

MVC PRESEASON POLL

Indiana State was picked in a poll of league head coaches to win the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference baseball title. The Sycamores are defending regular-season and tournament champions. ISU received 95 total points and eight of 10 first-place tallies in this season's poll, while Missouri State and Evansville earned the other two first-place votes. The Bears finished second in this year's poll with 89 points, while Evansville is in the No. 3 spot with 81 points. Murray State (4th, 67 points) and Southern Illinois (5th, 63 points) are tightly bunched for the next two spots, followed by Belmont (6th, 40), Illinois State (7th, 39), UIC (8th, 34), Valparaiso (9th, 22), and Bradley (10th, 20).

PRESEASON MVC HONORS

Right-hander Jake Combs was named Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference. A Second Team All-MVC selection a year ago, Combs led the team in ERA with a 2.97 mark in 63.2 innings across 16 appearances, including 15 starts. In MVC play Combs held opponents to a 2.01 ERA in 31.1 innings.

DAWGS WITH WALK-OFF MAGIC

Southern Illinois recorded six walk-off wins in 2023 and has 11 walk-off wins under Lance Rhodes.

5/9/23 vs SIUE - Matt Schark - RBI Single to LF
4/18/23 vs APSU - Matt Schark - RBI Single to RF
4/16/23 vs UE - Nathan Bandy - RBI Single to RF
4/6/23 vs BEL - Matt Schark - Solo Home Run
3/28/23 vs UTM - Matt Schark - E4 Fielding Error
3/25/23 vs UIC - Steven Loden - 3-Run Home Run

FAST FACTS

Bob Goalby was a letter winner for the Saluki Baseball team in 1948, just the second year as a program. He went on to star in another sport: He won the 1968 Masters, defeating, among others, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Sam Snead.

SIU has led the MVC in turning double plays in seven of the last 10 seasons. SIU led the MVC in double plays in 2013, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 2023. The Salukis were second in the MVC in 2016.

The Salukis are one of the most senior-laden teams in the nation with 18 on the roster this season.

Utah Valley – 20
Texas State – 18
Houston – 18
Notre Dame – 18
Southern Illinois – 18
Georgetown – 17
Incarnate Word – 17

SIU BASEBALL: A RICH HISTORY

Southern Illinois has made five College World Series appearances, finishing second in the nation twice (1968, 71) and third twice (1974, 1977).
SIU has produced 25 Major Leaguers. Some notable MLB Salukis include Steve Finley, Duane Kuiper, Dave Steib, Jerry Hairston Jr., Al Levine, Jason Frasor, and Jim Dwyer.
The Dan Callahan MVC Baseball Coach of the Year award is the only Valley coaching award in any sport named after a former coach. Callahan coached SIU from 1994-2010, amassing 595 wins. In the decade of the 1970's, Southern Illinois had the second-best winning percentage in all of Division I baseball, trailing only Texas. SIU was 383-106-3 (.782) from 1970-79.
The Salukis have won eight Missouri Valley Conference championships. All but one came during a 16-year stretch from 1975-90. (SIU was independent in baseball before joining the MVC in 1975). Southern claimed its eighth Valley title and the program's first in 32 years in 2022 after going 16-5 in conference play.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will travel to SIUE Tuesday with the first pitch with the Cougars set for 3 p.m. The team returns home for a three-game series with Houston Christian beginning on Thursday.

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.