The conference season means more rivalries, better opponents and a chance for SIUC to forget about its slow start this season.

Head baseball coach Dan Callahan said the Salukis need to put the past behind and start the second half of the season with a clean slate.

When you are 5-12, you look forward to the conference starting, Callahan said. We’re looking forward to it. We are not particularly happy as far as where we are right now, record-wise.

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We did see some things on the spring trip that we thought were encouraging. But we saw some areas too where we thought we regressed. That was disappointing.

The Salukis’ first Missouri Valley Conference opponent is Creighton University. The Salukis start a three-game series 2 p.m. today at Abe Martin Field. The Bluejays are coming off a red-hot 6-1-1 spring trip and have an overall record of 11-6-1.

The Salukis’ spring trip was a disappointing 2-4, in which the team committed 16 errors in the six games. Callahan said a big key for the Creighton series will be getting the team ready defensively.

As much as this sounds like a clich, we just need to get back to the basics, Callahan said. We’ve gotten away from the basics. Our defense right now has struggled. That’s what we plan on doing (in practice) is get back to some basic things, get back to some technique things, and hopefully get better by the weekend.

Callahan said the problem was not a mechanical one but more of a problem of getting into a slump and then thinking about every ground ball too much.

I think it is a combination of some things, Callahan said. When you get into a fielding slump, it starts to grow on you. It almost is like a hitting slump. You starting thinking about things rather than going out and doing the things you have become accustomed doing naturally.

Now all of a sudden, everything seems to have become so segmented or mechanical. It’s tough. It is always on your mind.

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Junior shortstop Jon Winter committed seven of the 16 errors.

One of the reasons why he is here is because of his strong defensive ability, Callahan said. I think one thing that is going on right now is he has just got into his own head a little bit, and it is hurting him right now.

At different points in the season, the Salukis have had strong fielding, clutch hitting, and solid pitching, but have been unable to put all of the elements together. On the spring trip, the pitchers combined for 4.79 ERA, but errors and lack of timely hitting lost games.

Callahan said he likes his chances against Creighton based on the solid pitching he saw in Texas and the return of junior pitcher Jason Frasor. But he does not want his team to think it is going to be easy against the Bluejays.

One thing I hope is clear to our players is that we don’t go into this weekend thinking that it is a cakewalk, Callahan said. We were fortunate enough last year to go to Omaha and win four games. We played very well and came back with a lot of confidence.

The Salukis would like to start the conference season with a good record, but it is not a must-win situation at the moment.

I just think it is important to come out and play well, Callahan said. If it was the last weekend of the season and we needed to win three out of four games to get into the conference tournament, that’s crucial.

I don’t think you can say this is crucial. We just want to come out and play well. I know from a coaching standpoint, I am tired of seeing inadequate performance, and I think our players are tired of playing poorly.

SIUC plays host to Creighton University for a three-game series at Abe Martin Field beginning today at 2 p.m. The Salukis battle the Bluejays Saturday at noon and Sunday at 1 p.m.