Murray State
Southern Illinois
Racers Ride Momentum into Southern Illinois
2/24/2020 5:39:00 PM | Baseball
GAME 9
Murray State at Southern Illinois
Feb. 25, 2020
First Pitch:Â Tuesday: 3 p.m.
Series History:Â Southern Illinois leads 49-20
Last Meeting:Â May 1, 2019 (SIU won 8-3)
Stadium:Â Itchy Jones Stadium
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF) | 390Â (CF) | 330 (RF)
Live Stats
Twitter In-Game:Â @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers hit the road to take on local rival Southern Illinois. MSU is coming off a four-game sweep of Saint Peter's while the Salukis played in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Classic where they defeated USC.
Inside the Series
Murray State and Southern Illinois have met 69 times in the past. SIU leads the series 49-20 and has taken the last three matchups. The Racers are just 7-28 in Carbondale in their history, which dates back to 1974.
Perkins Earns OVC Honors
Senior Ryan Perkins earned OVC Player of the Week Honors after hitting .450 with two home runs, 11 RBI, six runs scored, one double, one triple, and two stolen bases in five games. He is the first Racer to be recognized by the OVC since Tyler Dixon in 2016.
Amongst Nation's Leaders
The Racers are 12th in the country in batting average at .319 and eighth in total hits with 86. Ryan Perkins is fourth in RBI with 15 and Brock Anderson is seventh in home runs with four.
How Sweep It Is
The Racers took all four games of the series with Saint Peter's over the weekend. It is the first four-game sweep for MSU since taking four games from Nebraska-Omaha in 1983.
New Faces
The Racers welcome 14 new players to the team this year, including five freshman, eight JUCO transfers, and one graduate transfer.
BrockStar
Senior Brock Anderson was named to the preseason All-OVC team, becoming the first Racer to earn the honor since 2017. A year ago, Anderson led the team with 13 home runs and 44 runs batted in while hitting .289.
Racers Picked Sixth
Murray State was picked sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll as voted on by head coaches and SIDs. Defending regular season and tournament champion Jacksonville State was picked to repeat.
Tournament Trip
MSU advanced to the OVC Tournament last season for the third straight season. The Racers went 1-2 in Marion, Illinois, defeating UT Martin in an elimination game.
Home Sweet Home
The Racers will play a total of 29 contests inside the friendly confines of Reagan Field in 2019 including nine straight games at home following their three-game road trip to begin the year.
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis were picked seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Dallas Baptist was picked to repeat.
SIU ranks seventh nationally in stolen bases with 18. Addison Fugitt and J.T. Weber have each stole a MVC-best four bags. Last season, SIU was fifth nationally with a school record 144 steals.
The Salukis are among the MVC's leaders in several offensive categories. SIU ranks first in on-base percentage (.382), hits (66) and runs (45). Southern ranks second in the league in batting average (.250) and doubles (14).
SIU leads the Missouri Valley in fielding percentage (.983) and has committed just one error in its last five games The defense has turned seven double plays, which is 18th in the nation.
Probable Starters
Joe Ivey (RHP) (0-1, 9.53 ERA) vs. Mitchell Jackson (RHP) (0-1, 1.59 ERA)
