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CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Salukis are coming off a fourth-straight 30-win season and the program’s 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. SIU returns a total of 13 letter winners, including eight starters, from a squad that went 35-14 in 2019. The Salukis added a talented quartet of newcomers that are eager to make an immediate impact and help Southern’s seniors, who have been to the NCAA Tournament in two of their three seasons, make it back for a second-straight season.
“Getting back to the NCAA Tournament is something we talk about all the time,” longtime Saluki skipper Kerri Blaylock said. “They are very hungry to get back and to maintain the level of play that they have had these past few years. Getting back to the tournament means a lot to our team and they are working hard every day to get back there.”
Southern begins the 2020 season on Friday, Feb. 7 at the Carolina Classic, hosted by No. 19 South Carolina. Three of SIU’s first four opponents made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and seven of Southern’s first eight games in 2020 will be against teams that advanced to the postseason in 2019. Southern’s 14 opponents with Top-100 RPIs from the year before are its most in a single-season since 2013.
“We started off a little tougher than I probably wanted because we will still be getting our newcomers acclimated,” Blaylock said of SIU’s 2020 schedule. “But I don’t think of that as a bad thing. We will be able to see where we are immediately. We’ve talked in our preseason practices about how we will be challenged from the start and that we learn as much through failure as we do when we succeed. I love playing those types of teams because it gets us ready for the conference season and shows us where we are at.”
Infield
The infield, which helped SIU rank No. 3 nationally last season in fielding percentage, returns all five everyday starters from a year ago. The returners are led by Preseason All-MVC selections Maddy Vermejan, Katelyn Massaand Jenny Jansen. A first-team All-MVC honoree last season, Vermejan returns after a junior season in which she posted the highest single-season on-base percentage by a second baseman in school history (.486) and was the only second baseman nationally to record a perfect 1.000% fielding percentage. The MVC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Massa was named to the All-Mideast Region First Team after she slashed .308/.503/.399 with 10 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBI. As good as she was at the plate, the senior catcher was even better behind the dish- she committed just one error and allowed the fewest stolen bases (21) of any catcher in the MVC. An All-Region first team selection as a sophomore, Jansen returns after she finished second in the Valley in batting average (.409) and became the first Saluki since 1996 to hit above .400. The Warrenton, Mo. native’s 22 multi-hit games were the most by a Saluki since 1995. One of SIU’s most athletic players, Jansen split time at third and in center field a year ago and will likely do that again this season.
Kyleigh Decker, Ashley Wood and Sidney Sikes also return. Decker started all 49 games at first base and is one of the strongest players on the team. She finished second on the team in home runs (7), walks (22) and stolen bases (8). The 2019 MVC Freshman of the Year, Wood is back after she put together one of the best freshman campaigns in school history. The Orland Park, Ill. native led all MVC freshmen in home runs (9), RBI (44), batting average (.344), on-base percentage (.415) and slugging percentage (.576). Sikes, who started 33 games at third base, will split time at third as well as back up Massa behind the plate.
Also in the mix in the infield will be junior Meredith Wernig along with freshmen Kerrigan Gamm and Tori Schullian. Wernig returns to her natural position at the hot corner after she played second base a year ago, while Gamm can play first base and can catch depending on what SIU wants to do with its lineup. The Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. native is a two-time USA Elite 30 Select All-American First-Team selection that rewrote Osage’s record books and left the school as its all-time leader in nearly every offensive category. Schullian, meanwhile, will back up Vermejan at second and saw time in the outfield during the fall.
“I feel really good about our infield,” Blaylock said. “We have so many leaders within our infield- the right side is two seniors and the left side will either be two sophomores or a junior and a sophomore. It’s really cool having everyone back.”
In the Circle
While Southern will no doubt miss it’s all-time wins leader in Brianna Jones, the Salukis have added a pair of proven winners to their pitching staff to complement returners Claire Miller and Holly Marousek.
Miller went 8-3 in the circle a year ago and notched the eighth-best earned run average (3.17) in the MVC. Marousek, meanwhile, made 12 appearances and threw 35 innings on the mound a year ago.
Freshmen Sarah Harness and Carlee Jo Clark join Miller and Marousek in the rotation. Harness was a three-time All-State selection and helped Bowling Green High School (Mo.) win back-to-back state championships. Clark was a four-time All-State honoree who helped St. Francis High School win its first regional title since 2005 and make its first-ever appearance in the IHSA state title game.
“I feel really good about our pitching staff,” Blaylock said. “Claire is a year older, has more confidence and is more refined. Sarah was very good in the fall but she continues to learn. She’s been working hard to master her craft and to understand what it will take to face hitters at this level. Carlee Jo is such a competitor. She’s got a unique ability that will really help us. Holly has made massive improvements in her demeanor on the mound, her confidence and has had a good preseason for us. We feel like we have four good arms that can help us out, which I haven’t had in quite some time.”
Outfield
Seven players will fight for playing time in the outfield as Susie Baranski, Maris Boelens, Megan Brown, Jenny Jansen and Nicole Johnson return for the Salukis, joined by freshmen Aubree DePron and Tori Schullian.
Baranski made 44 starts in the outfield a year ago and finished top-20 in the MVC in batting average (.342). The senior from Chicago Heights, Ill. also led the Valley in sacrifice bunts (15) and didn’t commit an error in the field. Boelens made 19 starts last season and was one of nine Salukis to hit over .275. She recorded her first career walk-off hit, a RBI-single, to propel Southern to a 2-1 win over Detroit Mercy and give SIU its first NCAA Tournament win since 2007.
Brown started 44 of SIU’s 49 games and was one of seven Salukis to record 30-plus hits a year ago. When not playing third base, Jansen will likely patrol center field, where she played 35 games last season and recorded two outfield assists. Johnson appeared in 38 games in her first season as a Saluki and led the team with three outfield assists.
One of the fastest Salukis in recent years, DePron was an all-state honoree as a senior at Bridge Creek High School (Okla.) after she hit .563 and stole 46 bases. Schullian was a four-time all-state selection at nearby Herrin High School, where she led the Tigers to four-straight regional appearances.
“We’ve been talking a lot this preseason about how everyone will be utilized this season,” Blaylock said of her depth in the outfield. “We can move a lot of players around within the outfield and infield. We have a lot of players that can play both left and right field. Who’s hot offensively, do we want to go with a lefty dominate lineup or a righty power hitting lineup will all factor into our decisions.”
Missouri Valley Conference Outlook
Drake won the regular season and conference tournament title behind All-American pitcher Nicole Newman. The Bulldogs went 43-16 and 24-2 in conference play to once again advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Southern joined Drake in the 2019 NCAA Tournament field as an at-large selection. The MVC was one of eight conferences (out of 32) and one three mid-major conferences to have multiple teams win at least one game at the 2019 NCAA Tournament. It marked just the seventh time in league history, and the first since 2011, that multiple MVC teams won games at the NCAA Tournament.
The Salukis were picked behind Drake and Northern Iowa in the annual MVC Preseason Poll. It marked the fourth-straight season in which SIU has been picked in the Top-3 of the annual poll. Southern was last picked to finish third in 2017, when the Salukis won the MVC Tournament for the first time since 1991.
“The way I look at it is that it is that just a poll,” Blaylock said. “It’s just opinions. What we do on the field matters. Do I think it will light a fire in our bellies? Absolutely and I’m thankful for that. I love that we were picked third. It ignites something within us as competitors that we want to go out and prove them wrong. Being the underdog has been what our program has been built on.”
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