PAIR OF MID-WEEK ROAD GAMES AHEAD FOR SALUKI BASEBALL

by John Lock siusalukis.com

Tuesday, March 6 » at Southeast Missouri (3-9)
Wednesday, March 7 » at Murray State (7-5)

Southern Illinois travels to Southeast Missouri and Murray State for a pair of mid-week battles. The Salukis face SEMO on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Murray State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. SCHEDULE NOTE: Wednesday’s game at Murray State was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. but was moved up one hour due to weather concerns. First pitch on Wednesday will now be at 3 p.m. CT.

GAME 1 – Tuesday, March 6, at Southeast Missouri // 6 p.m. // Listen | Live Stats

SIU LHP Brad Harrison (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 14.0 IP)
SEMO RHP Ashton Holyfield (0-0, 2.89 ERA, 9.1 IP)

GAME 2 – Wednesday, March 7, at Murray State // 3 p.m. // Watch | Live Stats

SIU RHP Dylan Givens (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 1.2 IP)
MUR LHP Luke Brown (0-1, 10.12 ERA, 5.1 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

• Southern Illinois travels to SEMO and Murray State in mid-week action. The Salukis face SEMO on Tuesday, March 6, at 6 p.m.
• SCHEDULE NOTE: The SIU-Murray State game has bee pushed up one hour due to weather concerns. First pitch will be at 3 p.m. (was originally scheduled for 4 p.m.)
• The Salukis and Redhawks are facing off for the 85th time. SIU leads the all-time series 54-29-1. The Salukis and Racers are facing off for the 69th time. SIU leads the all-time series 46-22.
• SIU won both games against SEMO last year. The Salukis were 3-10 in mid-week games last year, with two of those wins coming over SEMO. Murray State swept two games from SIU last year.
• The Salukis are 2-0 in mid-week games this year, with wins over Austin Peay and Belmont. SIU has a chance to tie or exceed last season’s mid-week win total (3-10).
• Brad Harrison, who is scheduled to start Tuesday at SEMO, is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week. He threw a two-hit shutout last week at Belmont, striking out 11. He didn’t allow a Belmont runner to advance past second base and threw seven perfect innings, including 17-straight batters retired to end the game.
• Dylan Givens, who is scheduled to start Wednesday at Murray State, is making his first career start. Givens, a John A. Logan transfer, has pitched 1.2 innings this year in two appearances. Givens started seven games at John A. Logan in 2017.
• Southern’s offense hit .367 in the weekend series against Louisiana Monroe. Eight players hit .300 or better in the series, led by Nikola Vasic(6-for-11 // .545) and Connor Kopach(8-for-15 // .533). As a team, SIU hit more than 100 points higher than ULM (.367 compared to .264).

MVC LEADERS

Team in sacrifice flies (9)
Team in stolen bases (14)
Team in fewest walks allowed (36)
Connor Kopach in hits (20)
Kopach in stolen bases (9)
Logan Blackfan in home runs (4)
Addison Fugitt and Alex Lyon in sacrifice flies (2)
Brad Harrison in opposing batting average (.125)
Trey McDaniel in appearances (6)