Southern Illinois University and Belmont University are set to face off in a three-game baseball series beginning Friday, May 7, with both teams tied at 9-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. The games will take place at Belmont, and the outcome could determine which team secures a spot in the upcoming conference tournament.
The matchup is significant as only the top six teams qualify for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. With just two weekends remaining in regular season play, Southern Illinois and Belmont are vying for the final spot. Southern Illinois (18-28 overall) swept Belmont last year but now faces a close contest with both programs sharing identical conference records.
Friday’s game will feature Andrew Evans as starting pitcher for Southern Illinois. Evans has been one of the top arms in The Valley this season, holding a 2.39 earned run average and leading the league with 77 strikeouts. Troy Shepard is slated to start on Saturday after combining with Meade Johnson last weekend to allow just one run over nine innings against Indiana State.
Offensively, Kristian Sprawling enters this weekend’s series on an 11-game hitting streak, having posted a .441 batting average over his last ten games and hitting two home runs against Indiana State. Other key contributors include Michael Mylott and Gabe Petrucelli—both central to last season’s school-record home run total—as well as reliever Dylan Petrey and several experienced returners.
Head coach Lance Rhodes is guiding Southern Illinois through his seventh season at the helm, recently reaching his 200th win milestone earlier this year. The roster consists mainly of upperclassmen but includes more than twenty new players this season.
Southern Illinois was picked second in the preseason conference poll behind Murray State. Six Salukis were named MVC Players to Watch: Tim Simay, Dylan Petrey, Kaleb Hall, Meade Johnson, Cecil Lofton, and Gabe Petrucelli.
The program participates in NCAA Division I within the Missouri Valley Conference and hosts its home games at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale—a facility that features artificial turf and a state-of-the-art video board according to the official website. Over its history, Southern Illinois has recorded five College World Series appearances under legendary coach Richard ‘Itchy’ Jones—whose uniform number has been retired—and maintains strong community engagement through university athletics according to the official website.
As postseason seeding hangs in balance for both teams heading into their crucial series this weekend, fans can follow updates via social media or by downloading the Salukis Mobile App.
