Preview | Salukis Welcome Regional Foe SEMO to Itchy Jones Stadium Tuesday

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri will meet for the first time this season for a midweek clash Tuesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Itchy Jones Stadium. Admission is free.

THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday – 6 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The game will air on ESPN Plus. Fans can also follow along via live stats or on X at @SIU_Baseball.

ON THE MOUND
Tuesday: Alec Nigut (4-1, 4.50) vs TBA (-)

QUICK HITS

Entering Tuesday at 19-13 overall and 4-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference, SIU looks to get back on track after being swept on the road at UIC over the weekend.
The Salukis are 12-4 in home games this season and 6-2 in midweek games.
SIU is 14-1 when leading after eight, 14-2 when leading after seven, and 12-2 when leading after six innings.
The Salukis are 11-1 when scoring in the first inning and 12-6 when scoring first.
Six Salukis have multi-hit games in 10 or more games this season led by Mathieu Vallee with 13 multi-hit games, including a four-hit game.
Nathan Bandy (17) holds the longest hitting streak on the team. Trey Cutchen saw his 14-game streak end in game two at UIC.
Mathieu Vallee has reached base in 22 straight games. Nathan Bandy is second on the team with 17 games.
Southern is 12-1 in games in which the team does not commit an error and 8-4 when committing one error.
SIU ranks second in the MVC in strikeouts per nine innings (9.0) and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.92).
Aidan Foeller leads the MVC and ranks 13th nationally with 14.38 strikeouts per nine innings. He set a career-high in punchouts last time out with 12 against UIC.
SIU has played in five extra-inning games this season and is 1-4. No game has gone past the 10th inning. SIU's last win in extras came against Jacksonville State in a 7-6 win at home.

THE SERIES & MATCHUP

SEMO enters play with a 15-17 overall record and a 6-3 mark in Ohio Valley Conference action.
The Redhawks are coming off a weekend series loss to Little Rock, dropping two of three games.
Southern holds a 60-31-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won eight of the last 10 meetings. The two squads split their midweek meetings last season with each team winning at home. SIU is 35-13-1 in Carbondale vs SEMO and holds a 23-17 record on the road in Cape Girardeau.
As a team, SEMO is hitting .291 with a .495 slugging percentage and a .398 on-base percentage. The team is led by Michael Mugan who is slashing .348/.576/.443 with eight home runs and 26 runs batted in.
Caleb Corbin is hitting .333 with three doubles and 12 RBI while Keoni Coloma is at .324 with one home run and 10 RBI. SEMO has hit 52 home runs while opponents have combined for 36. Ben Palmer has 10 to lead the team.
On the mound the Redhawks hold a 5.99 combined team ERA with 234 strikeouts and 124 walks in 270 innings.

FAMILIAR WITH THE FOE

Saluki skipper Lance Rhodes is no stranger to SEMO. Rhodes is a 2008 graduate of Southeast Missouri and got his coaching start as an assistant from 2013-16 with the Redhawks before going to Mizzou.

SWINGING THE HOT BAT

SIU has an MVC-best 326 hits and ranks second with 69 doubles.
Five Salukis are hitting .300 or better led by Nathan Bandy with a .373 average in 26 games and 18 starts.
SIU's .458 slugging percentage ranks fourth in the MVC.
Steven Loden leads the Salukis and ranks third in the MVC with 36 runs batted in.

SCORE, SCORE, SCORE

The Salukis lead the Missouri Valley Conference in runs (258) and scoring per game (8.06). Southern has scored 10 or more runs in 12 games this season, scoring 13 or more in seven games.
With 38 runs scored this season, Jake Allgeyer is second in the MVC and ranks 48th nationally.

RUN WITH US

SIU is 58-65 on stolen bases this season, including 1.81 steals per game to rank first in the MVC.
Nine players have multiple stolen bases led by Mathieu Vallee who is 12-for-13. Jake Allgeyer is 11-for-11 on steals while Hesston Gray is 7-of-8.

WALK IT OUT

The Salukis have shown patience at the plate, ranking tops in the MVC and 12th nationally after drawing 199 walks in 32 games (6.21 walks per game).
SIU has nine players that have earned 10 or more walks led by Jake Allgeyer's 30 free passes.
The Salukis have a .407 on-base percentage which is tops in the MVC and 64th nationally.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

The Salukis lead the MVC and rank 35th nationally in double plays with 27 turned this season and 0.81 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.

NEXT UP
The Salukis play host to Murray State this weekend for Alumni Weekend.

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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