Southern Illinois will open the MVC Tournament at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning against Indiana State. The Salukis are the No.5 seed and will face No. 4-seed Indiana State in the tournament’s opening game. 

Tournament Central » MVC-Sports.com

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The MVC Tournament features all eight MVC baseball teams. Based on overall seed, the teams are split into two four-team brackets. Each bracket plays a double-elimination format, and the two bracket winners face off in a single-elimination championship game. Fans are encourage to follow the MVC Tournament Central for all game times, ESPN+ and live stats links, game stories, and updates. 

ABOUT ESPN+

All games in the MVC Tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+. Valley fans can take advantage of a free trial offer to watch the 2018 MVC Baseball Tournament from Dallas, Texas, on ESPN+.  Proceed to https://plus.espn.com and click on the Start My 7-Day Free Trial tile.  The free trial timeframe is for new ESPN+ subscribers only.  Patrons will be auto-billed unless they cancel before the end of their free trial period.  Subscription will automatically renew unless canceled and is subject to the ESPN+ Subscriber Agreement.  Participants can cancel their subscription by logging into their account and clicking ‘My Subscription,” emailing or calling Customer Support at 1-800-727-1800.  Pricing is subject to change.

AROUND THE HORN

• Southern Illinois opens the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference tournament against Indiana State at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. SIU-INS is the tournament’s opening game.
• The format of the tournament is two, four-team brackets. Each bracket will play a double-elimination format, and the winners of the two brackets will play a single-elimination championship game.
• The Salukis won at least one MVC Tournament game in the first six seasons under head coach Ken Henderson before going 0-2 last season. Henderson was the interim head coach in 1994, and the Salukis also won one game in that MVC Tournament.
• SIx Southern Illinois players earned All-MVC recognition.
  • SP Michael Baird (First Team)
  • 1B Logan Blackfan (Second Team)
  • SP Brad Harrison (Honorable Mention)
  • SS Connor Kopach (Honorable Mention)
  • RP Ryan Netemeyer (Honorable Mention)
  • 2B Nikola Vasic (Honorable Mention)
• Baird and Blackfan earned All-MVC for the second time. Kopach and Netemeyer end their careers as three-time All-MVC performers.
• SIU has pitched seven shutouts in 2018, which ranks fourth in the nation and most for any SIU pitching staff since 1979.
• Connor Kopach (31 steals) and Alex Lyon (29) are the nation’s No. 1 stolen base combination.
• Kopach leads all active players in the NCAA in career stolen bases (82).
• Against top-40 RPI competition (Dallas Baptist, Missouri State, and Tennessee Tech–all on the road), Michael Baird has a 1.93 ERA.
• Over the last three seasons (291 innings), Baird has a 2.99 ERA.
• Among Valley aces, DBU’s Trevor Conn leads in ERA (but Baird has pitched 36 more innings) and MSU’s Dylan Coleman leads in strikeouts (but Baird’s ERA is a run better than Coleman’s). Baird ranks second in the MVC in both ERA and strikeouts.
• Ryan Netemeyer has 37 career saves, which is second in MVC history.
• Baird (320 innings), Blackfan (69 doubles), Kopach (82 steals) and Netemeyer (37 saves) lead all active MVC players in those career statistics.
• Logan Blackfan had his 21-game hitting streak earlier this season, tied for the fourth-longest hitting streak in SIU history.
• Connor Kopach was named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation’s top shortstop.
• Nikola Vasic has reached base in 51 of the last 53 games. Vasic has separate 27- and 17-consecutive games reached base streaks this season.
• SIU ranks fourth nationally in stolen bases with 125.
• SIU has turned 45 double plays this year, which leads the MVC. The Salukis have led the MVC in turning double plays in five of the last six seasons.
• Five SIU pitcher have at least one stretch of 10-consecutive batters retired this season (Baird, Harrison, Harrison, Givens, Steege).