| Southern Illinois (9-10, 0-0 MVC) vs. Eastern Illinois (3-14, 0-5 OVC) | |
| Date | Tuesday, March 19 |
| Time | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Charleston, Ill. – Coaches Field |
| Probables | LHP Brad Drust (1-1, 10.57) vs. RHP Jake Johansmeier (0-1, 4.00) |
| Radio | WFRX 1300-AM and online at Saluki All-Access |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois  |
| Live Stats | Provided by Eastern Illinois |
| Social Media | @SIU_Baseball |
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Southern Illinois baseball team will look to snap a three-game losing streak with a 3 p.m. game Tuesday at Eastern Illinois. It will be the Salukis’ final game before the conference season starts this weekend.
TUESDAY’S STARTER Brad Drust will make his second start of the season. The lefty made his first start of the season on Wednesday, March 13 at Middle Tennessee State. He allowed two runs off four hits in four inning of work. A redshirt junior, Drust has also made four relief appearances in 2013 and picked up his first win of the year on Feb. 22 at Jacksonville State.
EASTERN ILLINOIS SERIES NOTES Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 56-28-1. The series dates back to Abe Martin’s first year as head coach in 1947. The Salukis have won eight of the last 11 meetings, but the Panthers beat SIU 5-1 in Carbondale in 2012. The two schools have met annually for a single game since 2005. During that recent stretch, SIU is 6-2 against the Panthers. Southern Illinois has won its last three road games against Eastern Illinois and has not lost in Charleston since dropping both games of a double header with EIU on April 7, 1993.
The Salukis have not lost in Charleston since 1993.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS After starting the season 3-5, Eastern Illinois has lost nine straight games. The Panthers opened the home portion of their season this past weekend with a pair of losses to Austin Peay. The third game of the series was cancelled due to weather. EIU ranks 10th out of the 11-team Ohio Valley Conference with a .243 team batting average. Second baseman Nathan Sopena leads the team with a .316 batting average and five stolen bases. Jake Johansmeier will make his second start of the season. He has also made six relief appearances this season.
CLOSE LOSES Four of SIU’s last five loses have been by two runs or less, and the last two have been in extra innings. SIU has not lost by more than three runs all season. The Salukis are 2-4 in one-run games and 2-4 in two-run games. Southern Illinois is 5-2 in games decided by three runs or more.
LOOKING AHEAD SIU will open the conference schedule on Friday, March 22 with a three-game series at Indiana State. The Salukis will then return home for five consecutive nonconference games at Abe Martin Field. SIU will host Belmont on Tuesday, March 26 before welcoming Eastern Kentucky to town for a three-game series beginning on Thursday, March 28. The homestand will conclude on Tuesday, April 2 against Murray State.
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