Salukis baseball welcomes UC Irvine to Itchy Jones Stadium

UC IRVINE (11-8) at SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (10-11) // March 23-25, 2018 // Carbondale, Ill. (Weather) // Itchy Jones Stadium (2,000 | Turf) // SIU Game Notes PDF

---

Southern Illinois hosts UC Irvine for a three-game series on March 23-25. SIU is hosting a California school in baseball for the first time in program history, and UC Irvine is making its first trip to the state of Illinois as a Division I program. 

Schedule Note » Friday’s game has been changed to 1 p.m. CT. (It was originally scheduled for 5 p.m.) Rain is forecasted this weekend, so follow @SIU_Baseball on Twitter for schedule changes and updates, as well as in-game updates, news and notes.

GAME 1 – Friday, March 23 // 1 p.m. CT // Listen | Live Stats

---

SIU RHP Michael Baird (1-2, 4.26 ERA, 31.2 IP)
UCI RHP Andre Pallante (3-0, 0.81 ERA, 33.1 IP)

Game 2 – Saturday, March 24 // Listen | Live Stats

---

SIU LHP Jamison Steege (2-1, 3.77 ERA, 31.0 IP)
UCI RHP Louis Raymond (1-2, 3.46 ERA, 26.0 IP)

Game 3 – Sunday, March 25 // Listen | Live Stats

---

SIU LHP Brad Harrison (3-1, 2.27 ERA, 31.2 IP)
UCI RHP Trenton Denholm (1-2, 4.68 ERA, 25.0 IP)

AROUND THE HORN

---

• Southern Illinois hosts UC Irvine for a three-game series at Itchy Jones Stadium from March 23-25, 2018.
• This is the first time in SIU history a California team has traveled to Carbondale, Ill., to play baseball.
• SIU leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Salukis won 4-1 in Los Angeles in 1971. SIU was the College World Series runner-up that season, and UC Irvine was a Division II program.
• UC Irvine is making its third-ever trip to the state of Illinois and first-ever trip as a Division I program. The Anteaters played in Springfield, Ill., in 1973 and 1974 during the Division II College World Series.
• Bryson and Bradyn Reed will throw out the first pitch on Sunday. Bryson and Bradyn are members of the 2018 Saluki Baseball team through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
• Connor Kopach has 67 career stolen bases, which leads all active players in NCAA Division I. In 2018, Koapch leads the nation with 16 stolen bases.
• SIU ranks second in the nation in sacrifice flies (16) and third in stolen bases (57).
• Brad Harrison leads the MVC and ranks 11th nationally in WHIP (0.69).
• Harrison has retired at least 10 consecutive batters on four separate occasions this season.
  • 17, Feb. 27 at Belmont
  • 13, March 6 at SEMO
  • 11, March 6 also at SEMO (after player reached on dropped third strike)
  • 10, March 18 vs. No. 24 Illinois
• Southern Illinois is 7-3 in its last 10 games. The Salukis have outscored opponents 78-49 in that span.

FREE-BASE RATE

---

• Southern’s offense is taking 5.57 free passes per game (walks or HBP).
• SIU has only taken more than 5.0 free passes per game seven times in program history, most recently 1997.
• SIU’s current free-base rate (5.57) is second in program history, behind only 1980 (7.16 free-base rate).
• UC Irvine’s Friday and Saturday starters have only walked a combined 14 batters in 59.1 innings (2.1 per nine innings).

RUN WITH US

---

• SIU has stolen 57 bases through 21 games, which ranks third nationally.
• Since the start of the 2017 season, SIU has 157 stolen bases. Missouri State is second in the MVC during that span with 80.
• In the last 11 games, SIU is 36-for-42 stealing bases (85.7 percent).
• Connor Kopach leads the nation with 16 stolen bases.
• Three of the top four base stealers in the MVC are Salukis: Kopach (16) is first, Alex Lyon (11) is second, and Nikola Vasic (9) is tied for third.
• Last year, SIU stole 100 bases, which led the MVC by 42 and ranked 14th nationally. This year, SIU is on pace (2.71 stolen bases per game) to eclipse 150 stolen bases.
• The school record for stolen bases is 139 by the 1971 College World Series runners-up, coached by Itchy Jones.

MVC LEADERS (Through March 20 games)

---

• Connor Kopach in hits (35) and runs (26)
• Kopach in doubles (9)
• Kopach in total bases (54)
• Kopach in stolen bases (16)
• Nikola Vasic and Alex Lyon in sac flies (3)
• Logan Blackfan in home runs (5)
• Brad Harrison in opposing batting average (.142)
• Allen Montgomery and Trey McDaniel in appearances (10)
• Michael Baird in runners picked off (2)
• Team in runs scored (141)
• Team in triples (5)
• Team in walks drawn (101)
• Team in sac flies (16)
• Team in stolen bases (57)
• Team in double plays (15)