Preview | Saluki Baseball Hosts No. 25 Indiana State for Weekend Series
04/25/2024 | 12:57:00 | Baseball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball welcomes a Top-25 team to Itchy Jones Stadium for the first time since the 2019 season when the Salukis play host to No. 25 Indiana State this weekend in Carbondale.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday – 6 p.m.
Sunday – 4:30 p.m. (Moved from 6 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. due to forecasted weather)
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Games on Friday and Saturday will air on ESPN Plus with Luke Martin and Mike Trude calling the action while Sunday's series finale will be sent to a national television audience on ESPNU. Clay Matvick and Mike Rooney will have the ESPNU call.
Sunday's game will also be available on the Varsity Network with Luke Martin and Mike Trude on the radio call. Fans can also follow along via live stats or at @SIU_Baseball.
WEEKEND ROTATION
Mike Hansell (3-3, 6.05) vs Jared Spencer (5-0, 3.34)
TBA vs Brennyn Cutts (5-1, 2.39)
Aidan Foeller (3-1, 4.34) vs Luke Hayden (5-1, 2.84)
QUICK HITS
- Entering the weekend at 24-17 overall and 8-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois sits tied for fourth place in the Valley standings and plays host to league-leading and nationally-ranked Indiana State.
- SIU's last win over a ranked opponent came in 2019 against Dallas Baptist -- a 3-2 win in the series opener.
- Southern is 29-76 overall against ranked opponents since 2002 and 11-20 against ranked foes at home.
- SIU is 17-1 when leading after eight, 17-2 when leading after seven, and 15-3 when leading after six innings.
- The Salukis are 13-3 when scoring in the first inning and have outscored opponents 40-30 in the first inning.
- Southern is 14-4 in games in which the team does not commit an error and 9-3 when committing one error.
- Seven Salukis have multi-hit games in 10 or more games this season led by Mathieu Vallee and Jordan Bach with 17 multi-hit games each. Cole Christman is coming off SIU's lone five-hit game of the year against WIU.
THE SERIES & MATCHUP
- Indiana State enters the weekend with a 29-8 overall record and a 12-3 mark in MVC action.
- The Sycamores are coming off a weekend series win on the road at Illinois State, winning two of three.
- Indiana State has won 15 consecutive MVC series dating back to the 2022 season with the last series loss coming on the road against the Salukis when SIU swept the series.
- Southern holds a 105-94 advantage in the all-time series and has split the last 10 meetings with the Trees.
- Indiana State has won three straight in the series after sweeping the Salukis in Terre Haute last season.
- As a team, INS is hitting .291 with a .491 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage. The team is led by Dominic Listi who is slashing .373/.484/.532 with 11 doubles and 17 runs batted in. Luis Hernandez is hitting .357 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. INS has hit 60 home runs led by Mike Sears who has 15.
- On the mound, the Sycamores hold a 4.09 combined team ERA with 384 strikeouts and 159 walks in 321.1 innings of work.
SWINGING THE HOT BAT
- SIU has an MVC-best 412 hits and ranks second with 85 doubles. Cole Christman has recorded four doubles in the last two games and ranks second on the team with 11.
- Four Salukis are hitting .300 or better led by Cole Christman with a .341 average while Mathieu Vallee is hitting .340 in 40 games.
- Hesston Gray leads the squad with nine home runs while Cole Christman and Steven Loden have eight each. The trio have combined for 25 of SIU's 44 home runs this season.
RUN WITH US
- Southern Illinois is 62-71 on stolen base attempts this season, ranking first in the MVC. Ten players have multiple stolen bases led by Mathieu Vallee who is 13-for-14. Jake Allgeyer is 11-for-11 on steals while Hesston Gray is 9-of-10.
WALK IT OUT
- The Salukis have shown patience at the plate, ranking tops in the MVC and 18th nationally after drawing 236 walks in 41 games (5.75 walks per game). SIU has nine players that have earned 10 or more walks led by Jake Allgeyer's 34 free passes -- Allgeyer ranks third in the MVC and 54th nationally in walks.
FOELLER DOTTING THE ZONE
- Saluki right-hander Aidan Foeller ranks among the nation's best in strikeouts with 67 on the year to rank 55th nationally.Foeller also owns a 12.65 strikeouts per nine innings mark which is 29th in the country. Both numbers lead the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Of his 10 starts he has struck out eight or more batters five times and has recorded double-digit punchouts (12 vs UIC and 11 vs Valpo) twice.
SCORE, SCORE, SCORE
- SIU leads the Missouri Valley Conference in runs (312). Southern has scored 10 or more runs in 14 games this season, scoring 13 or more in seven games.
- SIU is 12-2 in games when scoring 10 or more runs and 9-4 when scoring 6-9 runs. Southern is a combined 3-11 when scoring five or fewer runs this season.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
- The Salukis lead the MVC and rank 37th nationally in double plays with 34 turned this season and 0.83 double plays turned per game.
- 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.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X 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.
