Catcher Matt Jones’ first home series of his senior season was played at Rent One Park in Marion, but now he’s calling it home in a different uniform.

Jones played two seasons with the Salukis. He started 113 games and hit .282 with 4 home runs and 63 RBIs. He signed with the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners after catcher Jose Gonzalez’s contract was purchased by the Colorado Rockies in June.

“It makes the transition easier staying in the same part of the country,” Jones said.

Miners coach Mike Pinto said the team really likes Jones because his approach fits in perfectly with professional baseball.

“Sometimes the best guy is right in your home town,” Pinto said. “We were looking for a catcher when Gonzalez went to the Rockies. There’s a lot of guys we could have gotten, but [Jones] was the guy we wanted.”

Pinto said he never saw Jones play with the Salukis because he doesn’t live in the area during the spring, but bench coach Ralph Santana had. Pinto said after the Major League Baseball Draft concludes, the team starts looking for players that didn’t get picked. Jones was on his list.

Jones is batting .309 in 21 games with two home runs and 12 RBIs with the Miners.

“This is a starting point for guys coming out of college that maybe got missed in the draft,” Pinto said. “I know he’s going to have some invite tryouts with some Major League clubs, and he’s going to deserve those.”

Pinto said Jones is splitting time catching with Phil Butler, depending on the matchups and who is pitching for the Miners.

Butler is the last remaining player from 2012, when the Miners won the Frontier League Championship. He said it is good competition between the two of them, and they both learn from each other.

“The competition is definitely better,” Jones said. “You’ve got a lot of guys from [Major League] affiliated ball that have played Triple-A or Double-A somewhere along the way.”

Jones has one semester of classes left at SIU, but no athletic eligibility remaining. He said it’s weird he isn’t participating in team preseason meetings, but he still keeps in touch with his former teammates.

“I still talk to those guys a lot,” Jones said. “I’m going to be down there a lot regularly. You can’t really forget that bond you had in college with those guys.”

Butler said Miners fans tend to be Saluki fans, and they know when a former Saluki transitions.

“We’ve had a couple SIU guys the past couple of years,” Butler said. “You definitely get a bigger reaction with those guys, especially their first game when they announce it over the loud speaker.”

Jones said he is keeping his role in mind. He said in the minors, teams are more focused on development, but right now he and his team are mostly focused on winning.

“The ultimate goal is to play Major League Baseball,” Jones said. “I’m still trying to get that opportunity with an affiliated team.”

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], @Aarongraff_DE or (815)-483-3781