SIUE Cougars (18-28-1) at
SIU Carbondale Salukis (26-22)
Tue., May 7, 6 p.m.
Itchy Jones Stadium
Carbondale, Illinois

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
SIUE LHP Matthew Gist (0-1, 5.57) vs. SIUC RHP Ben Riffe (2-3, 4.26)

SERIES STUFF: SIUE is 7-30 all-time against SIUC, which includes dropping a game earlier this year in Edwardsville. The Cougars are 2-19 in the series in Carbondale. 

WEEKLY WINNER: Freshman Daniel Gierer was named the OVC Player of the Week April 29 after going 7-14 against Bradley and Little Rock. He homered twice, drove in six runs and scored six runs. It is Gierer's first weekly honor.

GOING STREAKING: Lucas Spence had his 23-game hitting streak snapped at Western Illinois. It is the longest in the OVC this season and the longest in SIUE's Division I era. It was one game shy of the all-time school record. He currently has an eight-game streak working. He has hit safely in 31 of his last 32 games.

THAT'S OFFENSIVE: The Cougars are fourth in the OVC in average (.287). They are third in triples (10), fifth in doubles (84) and fifth in hits (460).

HOMER ROLL: SIUE's 41 home runs rank seventh in the OVC. Ryan Niedzwiedz leads the team with six home runs. The Cougars have hit 209 home runs over the last three seasons.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Cougars' .968 fielding percentage is fourth in the OVC.

LEAGUE LEADERS: Lucas Spence is the leading hitter in the OVC with a .418 batting average, which ranks seventh in the NCAA. He leads the league in hits with 77 which also is seventh in the NCAA. He is tied for the league lead with four triples.

DELONG ROAD: Friday starting pitcher Tyler DeLong was named OVC co-Pitcher of the Week after pitching the Cougars to a win April 19 at Western Illinois. He pitched six innings and did not allow an earned run. It is his first OVC weekly award.

AND RUNNIN' RUNNIN': The Cougars are second in the OVC with 77 stolen bases, which is SIUE's season record at the Division I level. Gierer leads the team with 15, which is tied for fifth in the OVC.

THE SKIPPER: Sean Lyons is in his eighth season as SIUE's head coach.

LAST YEAR: SIUE was 26-28 overall and 14-8 at home. The Cougars returned to the OVC Tournament for the second consecutive season under Sean Lyons. The Cougars finished seventh in OVC play at 9-15.