Baseball

SIUE Baseball’s Winning Streak Goes to 10
         The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville baseball team is riding a 10-game winning streak and look to extend its streak against Bellarmine this weekend.
         However, in order to keep the streak rolling, Coach Gary Collins has a suggestion for his team.
         “The key is if every player can stay focused,” said Collins. “I think it will be a little easier to stay focused because we have been singed earlier this year.”
         SIUE, 24-15 overall and 10-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, look to defend its first-place standing in the South Division when it takes on the Bellarmine Knights for a single game at 3 p.m. on Friday at Roy Lee Field. The home series wraps up with a doubleheader against the Knights on Saturday beginning at noon.
         “We are facing a last-place team, who was in the same place last year when they took one of the three games from us. Bellarmine is not just going to roll over. If we play like we did this last weekend, we should win all three games.”
         Last week, the Cougars won five in a row against conference opponents. SIUE defeated Southern Indiana 6-3 in Evansville, Ind., last Wednesday before returning home to sweep its two-game series against Lewis 5-2 and 21-4 on Saturday. The Cougars took both games from Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday by a score of 2-1 and 6-4.
         “We played a lot of good baseball and got good results in return. We beat a couple of good pitchers. Wisconsin-Parkside was one of the better teams we have played this season.”
         Collins also said the play of Nick Seibert (Worden) and Luke Humphrey (Rantoul) stood out.
         “Seibert had a great weekend, and Luke played very well with some great defense.”
         Seibert went 4 for 14 at the plate last weekend with three extra base hits and six runs batted in. He hit a two-run home run in game two against Lewis. Seibert also hit the game-winning double in the first game against Wisconsin-Parkside and added a three-run homer in game two to put the team in front by a score of 3-1.
         In the last four games, Humphrey went 5-for-15 with two RBI, two doubles and his first home run of the season. He recorded a double and a two-run homer in game two against Lewis. Humphrey scored the game-winning run against Wisconsin-Parkside in game one after getting aboard with a two-out double.
         Dave Crouthers (Edwardsville) and Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie) both earned their sixth win of the year. Crouthers pitched five innings in game one against Lewis, giving up two earned runs while striking out six batters. He is now 6-4 on the season with a 2.68 earned run average. Crouthers also went 4-for-12 at the plate during the home stand with five RBI and two home runs, including his game-winning three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning against Wisconsin-Parkside in game two.
                  -siue-