Preview | Salukis Host SIU Edwardsville Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium

Tuesday, May 7

Carbondale, IL

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

SIUE

Preview | Salukis Host SIU Edwardsville Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium

05/06/2024 | 12:26:00 | Baseball

By: Tim McCaughan, SIUSalukis.com

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

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can listen to the game on the Varsity Network app with Luke Martin on the call or follow along via live stats or on X at @SIU_Baseball.

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

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois enters the weekend at 26-22 overall and 9-12 in Valley action after dropping a weekend series on the road at Illinois State.
Seven Salukis have multi-hit games in 10 or more games this season led by Mathieu Vallee and Jordan Bach with 18 multi-hit games. Cole Christman has SIU's lone five-hit game against WIU.
Three Salukis have 10 or more multi-RBI games. Christman leads all hitters with 13 while Hesston Gray has 11, including three five-RBI games.
SIU's pitching staff has a 5.65 combined ERA with reliever Easton Dermody leading the team with a 3.07 ERA and a 4-1 record in 16 appearances out of the bullpen.
Saluki right-hander Aidan Foeller ranks among the nation's best in strikeouts with 84 on the year to lead the MVC and rank 31^st nationally. Foeller also owns a 12.46 strikeouts per nine innings mark which is 27^th-best in the country.

THE SERIES & MATCHUP

Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with SIUE 31-9 and has won 11 of the last 12 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 Salukis defeated SIUE 7-1 earlier this season in Edwardsville.
The Cougars enter Tuesday at 18-28-1 this season and have dropped four games in a row.
SIUE was picked to finish seventh in the OVC Preseason Poll.

SAVE IT

Right-hander Anthony Pron is second in the MVC and ranks eighth nationally in saves with nine on the year.
The mark ties him for eighth in program history in single-season saves with five other Salukis, most recently Trey McDaniels.
Dewey Robinson (1977) is seventh with 10 saves.
Pron was recently named to the Stopper of the Year Watchlist, honoring the top relief arms in the nation.

RUN WITH US

SIU is 64-75 on stolen bases this season, including 1.33 steals per game to rank 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.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

The Salukis rank second in the MVC and 49^th nationally in double plays with 38 turned this season.
SIU's 0.79 double plays turned per game is 59^th nationally.
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.

WALK IT OUT

The Salukis have shown patience at the plate, ranking tops in the MVC and 25^th nationally after drawing 260 walks in 48 games (5.41 walks per game).
SIU has nine players that have earned 10 or more walks led by Jake Allgeyer's 37 free passes.
It is the sixth time in program history that Southern Illinois has recorded at least 260 walks in a single season. The 260 free passes are the most in a single season since the Salukis tallied 289 in 2022 and it marks just the second time since 1986 that SIU has recorded 260-plus walks in a single year.

BACK-TO-BACK

On Sunday against Illinois State, Jake Allgeyer and Jordan Bach connected on back-to-back home runs in the first inning.
It marked the second time this season (vs. Lindenwood – 4/4/24) that SIU has hit consecutive home runs in a game.

NOTEWORTHY

Lance Rhodes is 152-91 in five years at the helm of the SIU baseball program.
Steven Loden returned to the lineup this past week after missing three weeks due to an ankle injury. Loden led the Salukis with a .500 average, a .750 slugging percentage and four walks over four games.
SIU is 19-1 when leading after eight, 19-2 when leading after seven, and 17-3 when leading after six innings.
SIU is 14-4 when scoring in the first inning and has outscored opponents 45-32 in the first.
Southern is 15-7 in games in which the team does not commit an error and 9-5 when committing one error. SIU is 2-10 when committing 2 or more miscues in the field.
The Salukis snapped a six-game losing streak to Top-25 teams after taking the series opener over the #25 Indiana State, 3-2. It was the first ranked win for SIU since 2019.

NEXT UP
The Salukis play host to Bradley this weekend to close out the regular season home slate. All three games will air on ESPN Plus.

FOLLOW THE SALUKI
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.