Southern Illinois - Baseball

[89rabbit]

Up next for the boys in blue, is their last chance to pick up a win over a MVC team this year. This Friday-Sunday the Jacks will play three games in Carbondale. The Salukis are 31-18 on the year. SIU does have Gametracker. Here is a like to SIU's baseball page:

http://siusalukis.collegesports.com/...sebl-body.html

Go Jackrabbits, beat the Salukis! ;D


P.S. For those who are wondering what a Saluki is . . .
yet another web link.

http://www.siuc.edu/aboutsiuc/saluki.html

[89rabbit]

Re: Southern Illinois - Baseball

More info on this weekend's games.

http://siusalukis.collegesports.com/...051205aab.html

Baseball Hosts South Dakota State This Weekend

Salukis and Jackrabbits Open Three-Game Series Friday at 3 p.m.

May 12, 2005

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill.-Southern Illinois (31-18 ) hosts South Dakota State (15-31) in a three-game series this weekend. The Salukis and Jackrabbits play Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m., CST.

SIU has seven games left in its 2005 regular-season, and six are at home.

After this weekend, the Dawgs square off against No. 20 (Baseball America) Missouri in a wood bat game at T.R. Hughes Stadium in O'Fallon, Mo., on May 17. SIU then returns to Carbondale to finish up conference play with a three-game series against Illinois State (May 19-21).

Broadcast Information
Live audio and gametracker will be available for all three games between Southern Illinois and South Dakota State at www.siusalukis.com. QuickTime Player is required for all audio webcasts.

Southern Illinois Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday - 26 Tyler Norrick, Jr., LHP, 4-2, 2.60 ERA
Saturday - 11 P.J. Finigan, Sr., RHP, 7-2, 3.10 ERA
Sunday - 23 Bryan Rueger, Sr., LHP, 7-3, 3.23 ERA

There's No Place Like Home
SIU plays 10 of its 13 games during the month of May at Abe Martin Field, where the Dawgs are currently 17-6 this season.  .  .  .

Scouting the Jackrabbits
A new era in Jackrabbit baseball began this season, as SDSU joined the Division I ranks.

SDSU, previously a member of the Division II North Central Conference, is wrapping up a 53-game regular-season schedule, which concludes at the Division I Independent Tournament in Greeley, Colo.

SDSU, who has played 32 of its 45 games on the road, squares off against its sixth MVC school when it visits SIU this weekend. The Jackrabbits, who are 0-12 against Valley teams, also faced Creighton (0-3), Evansville (0-2), Illinois State (0-1), Indiana State (0-4) and Northern Iowa (0-2).

The Jackrabbits, who have been outscored, 104-49, against MVC teams this season, are led by Greg Geary, who is hitting .329 with 36 runs, 11 doubles, nine home runs and 47 RBI.

As a team, SDSU hits .278 with 24 homers, and holds a 7.71 ERA on the mound. The Jackrabbits are also 5-7 in their last 12 games.   .  .  .

Go Jackrabbits, beat the Salukis! ;D

[89rabbit]

Re: Southern Illinois - Baseball

Highlights of a story from The Southern of Carbondale, Ill.:

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/ar...rts/103178.txt



Recipe for success

by jim dunbar
for the southern

CARBONDALE - The Southern Illinois University baseball team defeated South Dakota State 8-1 on Saturday afternoon at Abe Martin Field by reverting to a simple consistent recipe the team has used to win 33 games.

The main ingredient is the scrumptious starting pitching. The Salukis' staff ranks 18th among the nation's best, posting a miniscule 3.32 team ERA. Senior P.J. Finigan (8-2) added to it, fanning seven opponents in seven innings while only giving up one unearned run shrinking his ERA to 2.87.  .  .  .

Next, preheat the bats and add an early lead. The Salukis jumped all over the Jackrabbits starter Christian Larson (2-4) in the second inning, posting six runs.

"When you got a guy like Tyler Norrick on the mound and a guy like P.J. Finigan on the mound and you score early like we did the last two days, it can be a little bit demoralizing," said Callahan. "It's easier to play like that, it's easier to pitch like that and I'll be ecstatic if we can come out here (today) and put up some numbers on the board to give those guys some breathing room."

Mix in production from the bottom of the lineup. Freshman Tyler Lairson was the perfect blender, going 2-for-4 from the plate with three RBI's while starting at shortstop for Finigan.  .  .  .

The final topping from the last 27 games is a Koski hit. The sensational sophomore has hit safely in 27 consecutive games, tying Creighton's Vince Pietro's production from 2000, for seventh all-time in the MVC.  .  .  .

The icing on the cake is solid bullpen work that been known to boil over. Adam Snyder and Mark Obszanski made sure Finigan's masterpiece was prepared accurately, combining for two innings without giving up a hit and most important - without a run.  .  .  .

The Salukis recipe for success has South Dakota's coach Reggie Christiansen salivating to the taste of what his team may eventually become.

"We are really young and play four freshmen and a sophomore everyday. We feel good to be where we are going and obviously we have a long way to where we can be mentioned in the same breath as Southern Illinois."

The Salukis increase Callahan's all-time best win total in a season to 33-18 while the Jackrabbits fall to 15-33.  .  .  .



The Salukis are a heck of a team.  One more chance for us before the boys pack up and head for Manhattan  .  .  . the little apple Manhattan, KS to play the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big XII.

Go Jackrabbits, beat the Salukis!  ;D

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: Southern Illinois - Baseball

I was at Fridays game against SIU, They have a nice program & great facilities. They had just taken a series from Wichita St. that drew about 1500 fans per game. It was nice seeing Greg hit the record breaking home run!! I think SIU is a pretty good blueprint to model athletic success in almost all sports, They have built a powerhouse program in baseball, basketball, and football. They are in a small community of 20,000. much like Brookings.