Preview | Salukis Close Homestand Tuesday with Southern Indiana

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball returns to Itchy Jones Stadium on Tuesday as the Salukis play host to Southern Indiana at 6 p.m. to close a four-game homestand.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can watch the action on ESPN Plus or follow along via live stats or on X at @SIU_Baseball.

ON THE MOUND
TBA (-) vs TBA (-)

QUICK HITS

Entering play at 25-19 overall and 9-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference, SIU is coming off a weekend series loss to No. 25 Indiana State.
The Salukis snapped a six-game losing streak to Top-25 teams after taking the series opener over the Sycamores 3-2 on Friday night. It was the first ranked win for SIU since 2019.
Aidan Foeller matched a career-high with 12 punchouts on Sunday and has now struck out 10+ batters in four starts this season.
Cole Christman recorded a team-high six base hits over the last week for Southern Illinois. The catcher slashed .353/.706/.389 while driving in four runs, scoring twice, and drawing one walk.
SIU is 18-1 when leading after eight, 18-2 when leading after seven, and 16-3 when leading after six innings.
The Salukis are 14-3 when scoring in the first inning and have outscored opponents 41-30 in the first.
Southern is 15-5 in games in which the team does not commit an error and 9-4 when committing one error.
Seven Salukis have multi-hit games in 10 or more games this season led by Mathieu Vallee with 18 and Jordan Bach with 17 multi-hit games. Cole Christman has SIU's lone five-hit game against WIU.
Two Salukis have 10 or more multi-RBI games. Christman leads all hitters with 13 while Hesston Gray has 10, including three five-RBI games.
SIU's pitching staff has a 5.43 combined ERA with reliever Easton Dermody leading the team with a 2.83 ERA and a 4-1 record in 15 appearances out of the bullpen.

THE SERIES & MATCHUP

USI enters play with a 19-25 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Ohio Valley Conference action.
The Screaming Eagles are coming off a weekend series win on the road at Eastern Illinois, winning the final two games of the series.
Illinois leads the all-time series 3-1 after sweeping USI last season in a home-and-home midweek series. The two squads first played in 1989 with SIU winning the first of a doubleheader 6-1 before falling 6-2 in the nightcap.
As a team, USI is hitting .279 with a .397 slugging percentage and a .383 on-base percentage. The team is led by Ren Tackioka who is slashing .383/.451/.472 with four doubles and 18 runs batted in.
On the mound, USI holds a 5.83 combined team ERA with 345 strikeouts and 212 walks in 381.1 innings of work.

NOTEWORTHY

Saluki right-hander Aidan Foeller ranks among the nation's best in strikeouts with 79 on the year to lead the MVC and rank 33rd nationally. Foeller also owns a 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings mark which is 23rd-best in the country.
Southern Illinois is 64-74 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.
The Salukis have shown patience at the plate, ranking tops in the MVC and 21st nationally after drawing 248 walks in 44 games (5.64 walks per game). SIU has nine players that have earned 10 or more walks led by Jake Allgeyer's 37 free passes.

NEXT UP
The Salukis travel to Illinois State this weekend to continue Valley play. The series opener on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be the lone game on ESPN Plus. Luke Martin will have the radio call all weekend on the Varsity Network.

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 Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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