Preview | Salukis Travel to Edwardsville for Midweek Matchup with SIUE

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball will travel to SIUE for a midweek matchup against the Cougars on Tuesday. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. from Roy E. Lee Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can also follow along via live stats or on Twitter @SIU_Baseball.

WEEKEND ROTATION
LHP Alec Nigut (1-0, 14.14) vs LHP Matt Gist (0-0, 0.00)

THE SERIES & THE MATCHUP

Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with SIUE 30-9 and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Cougars snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Salukis last season with a 5-4 win in Edwardsville. SIU won in Carbondale 6-5 to earn the season split.
The Cougars enter Tuesday at 2-10 overall this season after salvaging the final game of a four-game series with South Dakota State Sunday afternoon with a walk-off win over the Jackrabbits.
SIUE was picked to finish seventh in the OVC Preseason Poll.
The Cougars were 26-28 overall and 14-8 at home in 2023. SIUE returned to the OVC Tournament for the second consecutive season under Sean Lyons. The Cougars finished seventh in the league at 9-15.

AROUND THE HORN

The Salukis are 6-5 overall after dropping a weekend series at home to Appalachian State.
Southern Illinois has drawn 87 walks to lead the MVC and rank sixth in the nation. SIU has four players who have 10 or more walks this season led by Jake Allgeyer who has 16 to rank second nationally. Saluki designated hitter Bennett Eltoft has 14 walks which is 14th nationally.
In 11 games the Saluki offense has scored 104 runs to rank second in the Valley and rank 35th in the nation. It's 9.5 runs per game ranks 33rd in the country.
Steven Loden leads SIU with five home runs and 16 RBIs.
Anthony Kodama and Trey Cutchen have a team-high four doubles.
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 6.75 ERA in three starts. He leads the team with 20 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.
Ben Riffe has made three relief appearances and struck out six in 3.1 innings.
Alec Nigut recorded his first win at SIU on Tuesday against Butler. The lefty settled in to pitch five innings while retiring seven Butler batters on punchouts.
Opponents have collected 133 base hits and 64 walks in 11 games.

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 132-74 and a 46-30 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.

THE BIG FLY

SIU's 12 home runs rank fifth 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 nine double plays this season and has hit into just one.

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.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will play host to Houston Christian for a three-game series beginning Thursday at 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.

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