The Cougar baseball team looks to rebound this week after struggling the opening weekend of Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
         SIUE, 14-14 overall and 1-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, host two non-conference games during the week before returning to conference play this weekend. First up for the Cougars is McKendree tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Roy Lee Field. On Wednesday, SIUE faces Lincoln at 2 p.m. at Roy Lee Field.
         The Cougars get back to the conference schedule when they travel to Indiana for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday against IUPU-Fort Wayne and St. Joseph's, respectively. Both doubleheaders begin at noon.
         "I am not sure what to expect from either team," Coach Gary Collins. "However, St. Joseph's is always scrappy and plays hard against us."
         Last weekend, SIUE dropped two of three against conference rival Quincy on the road. The Cougars won the first game 6-4 before falling to the Hawks 3-1 in the doubleheader nightcap and 7-6 in extra innings on Sunday.
         "Our pitching was good, we just gave up a lot of runs defensively. If we pitch like we did last weekend, we have a chance to win this week."
         Dave Crouthers (Edwardsville) was 4-for-9 over the weekend with a double and two runs batted in. He also pitched six innings and struck out eight batters in the 3-1 loss. Crouthers is batting .361 on the year with a team-leading 39 runs batted in and has posted a 3.14 earned run average.
         Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie) pitched five innings in relief, recording the win in the first game of the series. Giaudrone, 3-1 on the year, also recorded his first home run of the season on Sunday. He leads the team with a 1.57 earned run average, 17 appearances and seven saves.
         -siue-