Southern Hits the Road for Weekend Slate at Evansville

Friday, April 10

Evansville, IN

7 PM

Southern Illinois University

Evansville

Cecil Lofton (Left) and Tim Simay (Right) celebrate Lofton's home run against Illinois State Friday, April 3, 2026, at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

Photo by: Saluki Athletic Communications

04/09/2026 | 6:18:00 | Baseball

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois baseball aims to build momentum in conference in a road weekend series at Evansville beginning Friday.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday — 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen | Watch
Saturday — 2 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen | Watch
Sunday — 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen | Watch

THE PROBABLE STARTERS

Andrew Evans (5-1, 1.47 ERA) vs. Max Hansmann (2-2, 4.06 ERA)
Troy Shepard (1-2, 3.98 ERA) vs. Tanner Graham (1-2, 2.59 ERA)
TBD vs. Kenton Deverman (1-3, 7.71 ERA)

AROUND THE HORN

Southern Illinois took two of three from Illinois State over the weekend, before dropping a midweek matchup to SEMO 6-5 on Tuesday night.
Andrew Evans was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday. The honor is his second of the season. In the midst of an already spectacular season, Andrew Evans put together his best performance of the 2026 campaign in Southern Illinois' 4-3 win over Illinois State Friday night. The right-hander hit career-high marks with 8.0 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts while allowing zero earned runs in the process. The Olathe, Kan., native currently leads The Valley with 50 strikeouts on the season and ranks second with a dazzling 1.47 ERA (13th in the NCAA).
SIU hit a school-record 113 home runs last season, with a large portion of that power returning, led by Michael Mylott and Gabe Petrucelli. The pitching staff also brings back experience, including weekend starter Meade Johnson and reliever Dylan Petrey, while several newcomers are expected to play key positions early in the season.
Consistent with previous seasons under Rhodes, the Salukis have over 20 new pieces as the season begins. The roster consists of 13 seniors, 15 juniors, three sophomores and just two freshmen.

THE MATCHUP

Southern Illinois (12-19, 3-3 MVC) vs. Evansville (11-19, 4-2 MVC)
Common non-conference opponents: SEMO, Lindenwood (SIU: 0-2, UE: 1-2)
The Salukis won both matchups in 2025, ending a three-game skid. They lead the all-time series 62-33-1.
The Purple Aces took two of three from Bradley over the weekend and defeated Lindenwood 9-2 in a midweek matchup on Wednesday.
UE has struggled offensively to start the season, ranking last in the MVC in batting average (.231), RBIs (127) and hits (224).
Charlie Longmeier leads the Purple Aces hitting .301, while Reid Haire and Reagan Reeder are tied with four home runs. Drew McConnell paces UE with 19 RBIs. Spike Magill has shown elite patience, ranking second in the MVC with a .531 on-base percentage, fueled by 25 walks (2nd in MVC).
UE joins SIU as the only other MVC team with two starting pitchers ranked in the league's top 10 in ERA. Tanner Graham (2.59, 4th) and Max Hansmann (4.06, 8th) lead the charge.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

Southern Illinois was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. Murray State was selected as the conference favorite, followed by SIU, UIC, Illinois State, and Indiana State.

Six Salukis were named to the MVC Players to Watch list:

Simay led SIU with a .351 batting average last season, while Petrey was a key arm out of the bullpen and earned All-MVC Honorable Mention honors.

The Salukis have an experienced roster, including only a handful of underclassmen, and rely heavily on leadership with experience in the Saluki Baseball program.

ON THE DIAMOND

Southern Illinois returns big offensive production from last season's lineup, including several of the team's top run producers and power hitters. Petrucelli and Mylott headline a group that helped set the program's single-season home run record.

ON THE MOUND

SIU brings back key arms to anchor the pitching staff, including Meade Johnson and Dylan Petrey. The Salukis have also added several transfers, including Andrew Evans, who has been the Friday starter this season. The Kansas State transfer features a fastball that tops out in the mid-90s with multiple wipeout pitches and has been one of The Valley's best arms early on.
The Salukis are currently second in The Valley with a 5.45 team ERA and lead the league in opponent batting average at .253.
The bullpen has collected eight saves, second in the conference.

SIU ranked 25th nationally and second in the MVC with 500 runs scored in 2025, and led the league with 8.8 runs per game.
The Salukis were 42nd nationally with 603 hits.
SIU ranked 10th nationally and first in the MVC with 113 home runs.
Southern ranks sixth nationally and led the MVC with a .555 slugging percentage.
The Salukis were tied for 30th nationally and tied for second in the MVC with 124 doubles.
SIU was second in the MVC and ranked 28th nationally with 17 triples.
The Salukis were tied for 24th nationally and led the MVC with 33 sacrifice flies.
SIU was second in the MVC with 81 stolen bases.
The staff posted five shutouts, tied for 21st nationally and second in the MVC, and boasted 12 saves.

LEAD DAWGS

Kye Watson was the top Saluki hitter in the opening series at Oral Roberts. The freshman from Lititz, Pa., went 5-for-11 at the plate and hit two solo homers in his debut series for Southern.
Charlie Miller made the most of his first appearance out of the bullpen, pitching three shutout frames with three strikeouts in the opening victory at Oral Roberts.
Julio Guerrero leads the MVC with 17 stolen bases in the young season and is tied for 43rd nationally. He leads SIU with six home runs, tied for ninth in The Valley. His recent surge has him ranked in The Valley's top 10 of slugging percentage (.571, T-6th), hit-by-pitches (9, T-6th) and sacrifice flies (3, T-7th).
Cecil Lofton leads the MVC with five sacrifice flies.
Andrew Evans is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in ERA (1.47) and has 50 strikeouts, leading in the MVC. He also sports the league's second-best opponent batting average at .188, and the third-best WHIP (1.04) among qualified pitchers.
Troy Shepard is fourth in the league with an opponent batting average of .208, seventh with a 3.98 ERA, sixth with a 1.23 WHIP and tied for third with 38 strikeouts.

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.