Freshman pitcher Tanner Funke throws a pitch March 2 against a Middle Tennessee State batter. The Salukis lost 17-4 March 2 at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis will host Northern Iowa this weekend for a three-game, three-day series beginning at 3 p.m. today. - - Julia Rendleman | Daily Egyptian
The north and south will meet on the baseball diamond Friday for a weekend series, proving polar opposites do in fact attract.
With the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Abe Martin Field, the SIU baseball team (5-11) plays host to the Huskies of Northern Illinois University (3-12) in the first of a three-game series.
Both squads have experienced troubles, as the Salukis have dropped their last four games and NIU is on a six-game skid.
Saluki pitchers have an ERA of 9.58, however; the Huskies highest run total for the year peaks at eight.
Head coach Dan Callahan said he and the rest of his staff decided to shake up the starting rotation heading into the series with an intrastate rival.
“Ryan Bradley is going to throw in game one,” Callahan said. “Nathan Forer, who we felt all along was good enough to be in our top three … is going to throw on Saturday. That pushes Randy Hoelscher back a day, but that extra day is going to help him heading into the weekend.”
Bradley, a senior left-hander, made the start for the Salukis in their last win against Santa Clara University. He gave up one run through five innings in a 6-5 win over the Broncos, allowing five hits and striking out two.
Despite the jumbling of the starting rotation, Bradley said he is on six days rest and is ready to go deep into the later innings.
“I just have to keep the game close and give our offense a chance,” Bradley said. “If we just limit the big innings and throw up some zeros, we’ll be fine.”
The Salukis have shown an ability to post more than 10 runs in nine innings four times this season. However, the SIU pitching staff has allowed its opponents to cross the plate for 10 or more runs 11 times thus far.
Michael Stalter, a senior shortstop, has been productive with both the bat and glove in hand, leading the team with six doubles and 44 defensive assists.
Progression on a game-to-game basis is the team’s main focus Stalter said, disregarding the in-state rivalry.
“It’ll all come together eventually,” Stalter said. “This weekend will be a good starting point and we should hopefully walk away with a few wins. It would help to leave on a good note heading into conference play.”
After their three-game series with NIU, Southern will entertain two single matchups with Tennessee-Martin and Eastern Illinois before opening up Missouri Valley Conference play with a three-game home series against Creighton.
The Land of Lincoln showdown will get underway beneath mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s.
The Salukis won the previous meeting 9-7 March 8, 2009, but the Huskies own the all-time record 43-25.
Ray McGillis can be reached at rmcgillis@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 269.
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