SIU baseball did not have to find as many recruits this season as the last two years.

The Salukis signed left-handed pitchers Seth Hackett, from Smith County High School in Elmwood, Tenn., and Joey Marciano from John A. Logan Community College. They also signed left-handed hitting outfielder Logan Soole from Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo. Soole can also pitch, but coach Ken Henderson said he will mostly play outfield.

The team currently has 26 underclassmen. Henderson said this year the team could not sign as many players because it is only losing four players after the season.

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“We just replace what we lose,” Henderson said.

Hackett had a 5-3 record with a 2.02 earned run average and 73 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched during his junior year.

Marciano had an 8-2 record with a 1.93 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched at John A. Logan his freshman year.

“He was heavily recruited,” Henderson said. “Fortunately for us, he goes to a junior college that is 10 minutes down the road. He lives in Carbondale and obviously that helped the recruiting process.”

Soole was the No. 11 rated player in Colorado by Prep Baseball Report. He will become the fifth player on the team from Colorado.

“We have a good reputation in that area,” Henderson said. “It’s a combination of that and [hitting] coach [Ryan] Strain being from that area that opened the door for us.”

Soole had a .435 batting average with 4 home runs and 15 stolen bases his junior year. He also had a 4-2 record with a 1.83 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched.

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Henderson said next year will probably also be a small recruiting class since the team will not lose many players.

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], on Twitter @Aarongraff_DE or 536-3311 ext. 269