The rivalry between SIUC and its Southern Illinois University counterpart in Edwardsville has not been much of one as of late at least from the SIUC standpoint.

The Salukis have won the last 14 meetings against SIUE dating back to 1989.

Anytime you have a Division I or Division II or junior college teams play probably the team that is supposed to be the underdog it’s probably more critical for them, SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer said. Because playing up and winning shows them really well, but in our case it doesn’t do the same thing for us.

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SIUC’s matchup today against SIUE, which was originally scheduled April 1, may appear to be a meaningless game. The Salukis sit in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference and have a date with league-leader Creighton University Sunday.

The Salukis enter the 5 p.m. doubleheader at Edwardsville with a record of 29-12-1 overall and 11-3 in conference play. But today gives the Saluki softball team a chance to touch up on their skills before the final week of Missouri Valley Conference play.

This is important because we want to get tuned up for the conference race, Brechtelsbauer said.

Brechtelsbauer has no intentions of letting up against the Cougars (36-21, 22-5). The last time the Salukis were in Edwardsville, one week ago today, they were being handled by the nationally ranked Missouri pitching staff. Missouri swept a doubleheader, and SIUC needs to regain some confidence.

The Tigers ended the Salukis six-game winning streak by shutting down the their offense, limiting them to only two runs in both games.

We just need to come out and be a little bit more fired up than we were, Brechtelsbauer said. We weren’t playing as hard as we needed to in terms of intensity.

The recent hitting of junior first baseman Theresa Shields could ignite the fire needed to resurrect the offense. Shields has batted .409 (9-for-22) during her seven-game hitting streak. In the process, she has leapt back in front of junior outfielder Jen Feldmeier (.336) for the lead in batting average.

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Brechtelsbauer said Shields hitting could help the rest of the team.

Well, hopefully all of them are coming around at the right time of year, Brechtelsbauer said. We’ll find out within a week or two. Hopefully, it all gels at the same time

Defensively, the MVC’s best pitching staff must contain SIUE’s quartet of .300-plus hitters in Sarah Sollberger (.410), Gwen Jackson (.375), Kim Messinger (.365) and Mandy Uhrhan (.341). Their consistent play at the plate has helped the Cougars score in double-figures six times this year, including a 25-run outburst earlier in the season. Sollberger leads the team with 12 homers and 56 RBIs.

We’ve got a sense of what their hitters can do, Brechtelsbauer said. They’ve always had a few hitters that can hit for power. If they have strong pitching, they can be a tough team to beat.

The Salukis travel to Edwardsville for a doubleheader versus SIUE today at 5 p.m.