The final series of the season is upon us beginning this evening at 7:00 (ET) as the Salukis of Southern Illinois University visit Terre Haute. This is a can-win series for the Sycamores, but it's going to take hot bats and precision pitching as the Salukis are hot on the road in conference play and their starter tonight is 6-0 in conference play!
Southern Illinois has won 20 games this season and 15 of those have come on the road. SIU is 6-3 in Missouri Valley Conference road games.
Salukis' sophomore pitcher Cody Forsythe can become the first Missouri Valley Conference pitcher to go undefeated in league play since Tim Clubb from Missouri State in 2008. Clubb was 7-0 for the Bears in eight MVC starts. There have been three known Valley pitchers to finish with a conference record of 7-0 or better since 2002 and all three were named the MVC's Pitcher of the Year. Forsythe looks to become the fourth Valley pitcher to go undefeated through league play when he takes the mound Thursday night. Forsythe is 6-0 through six Valley starts with a 1.02 ERA.
Offensively, Southern Illinois is led by junior outfielder Jordan Sivertsen, who needs two more RBIs to become the ninth Saluki in the last 20 years to drive in 50 or more runs in a season. Sivertsen is tied for sixth in the MVC with 48 RBIs and he leads the team with his .319 batting average, 15 doubles and nine home runs.
At the plate, Southern Illinois is hitting .274 this season, ranking seventh in the conference. Individually, the Salukis are led by junior Jordan Sivertsen, who leads the team with a .319 batting average (58-for-182) with nine home runs, 15 doubles and 48 RBIs. Senior Chris Murphy tops the SIU roster in hits, picking up 66 this season.
Other than Sivertsen, Southern Illinois is hitting .274 this season, ranking seventh in the conference. Individually, senior Chris Murphy tops the SIU roster in hits, picking up 66 this season.
On the hill, the Salukis carry a 4.57 team ERA, seventh in the MVC. The SIU pitching staff is led by tonight's starter, Cody Forsythe (8-3, 1.85 ERA). As a staff, Southern Illinois leads the Valley by allowing just 154 walks in 441innings on the mound (an average of 3.1 free passes allowed per game).
Last week against Illinois State, Forsythe threw six innings, givning up no runs on three hits and three K's. He surrendered no walks. He was pulled as a result of a long rain delay.
Colin Rea is on the bump for ISU tonight. Last week against Wichita State, Rea turned in a sterling performance, pitching 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and four walks. Rea needs to lace together two of those gems.
(From GoSycamores.com): Indiana State enters the weekend in seventh place in the MVC standings, but can finish as high as fifth after the weekend. ISU sits one-half game behind Evansville for sixth place and two games behind Southern Illinois as play begins on Thursday. ISU cannot fall below seventh place, thanks to winning two out of three games against Bradley earlier this season.
Weatherwise tonight, it's a great night for baseball. At the 7:00 (ET) game start, expect mostly cloudy skies and 72-degrees with light winds from the west-southwest. Humidity will be in the 50-60% range.
You can catch the game on radio on WISU and WBOW, through Twitter and through live stats.
Southern Illinois has won 20 games this season and 15 of those have come on the road. SIU is 6-3 in Missouri Valley Conference road games.
Salukis' sophomore pitcher Cody Forsythe can become the first Missouri Valley Conference pitcher to go undefeated in league play since Tim Clubb from Missouri State in 2008. Clubb was 7-0 for the Bears in eight MVC starts. There have been three known Valley pitchers to finish with a conference record of 7-0 or better since 2002 and all three were named the MVC's Pitcher of the Year. Forsythe looks to become the fourth Valley pitcher to go undefeated through league play when he takes the mound Thursday night. Forsythe is 6-0 through six Valley starts with a 1.02 ERA.
Offensively, Southern Illinois is led by junior outfielder Jordan Sivertsen, who needs two more RBIs to become the ninth Saluki in the last 20 years to drive in 50 or more runs in a season. Sivertsen is tied for sixth in the MVC with 48 RBIs and he leads the team with his .319 batting average, 15 doubles and nine home runs.
At the plate, Southern Illinois is hitting .274 this season, ranking seventh in the conference. Individually, the Salukis are led by junior Jordan Sivertsen, who leads the team with a .319 batting average (58-for-182) with nine home runs, 15 doubles and 48 RBIs. Senior Chris Murphy tops the SIU roster in hits, picking up 66 this season.
Other than Sivertsen, Southern Illinois is hitting .274 this season, ranking seventh in the conference. Individually, senior Chris Murphy tops the SIU roster in hits, picking up 66 this season.
On the hill, the Salukis carry a 4.57 team ERA, seventh in the MVC. The SIU pitching staff is led by tonight's starter, Cody Forsythe (8-3, 1.85 ERA). As a staff, Southern Illinois leads the Valley by allowing just 154 walks in 441innings on the mound (an average of 3.1 free passes allowed per game).
Last week against Illinois State, Forsythe threw six innings, givning up no runs on three hits and three K's. He surrendered no walks. He was pulled as a result of a long rain delay.
Colin Rea is on the bump for ISU tonight. Last week against Wichita State, Rea turned in a sterling performance, pitching 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and four walks. Rea needs to lace together two of those gems.
(From GoSycamores.com): Indiana State enters the weekend in seventh place in the MVC standings, but can finish as high as fifth after the weekend. ISU sits one-half game behind Evansville for sixth place and two games behind Southern Illinois as play begins on Thursday. ISU cannot fall below seventh place, thanks to winning two out of three games against Bradley earlier this season.
Weatherwise tonight, it's a great night for baseball. At the 7:00 (ET) game start, expect mostly cloudy skies and 72-degrees with light winds from the west-southwest. Humidity will be in the 50-60% range.
You can catch the game on radio on WISU and WBOW, through Twitter and through live stats.
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