Wags Doing Work?

Photo Courtesy of Edyta B

Todd Hefferman of The Southern Illinoisan tweets that Saluki softball star Katie Wagner will be coming back to Southern Illinois University next year.

This time, it will be as a basketball player under the direction of new head coach Missy Tiber.

Wagner handled the hot corner with ease in her four years at SIU, but now I'm intrigued to see how she will handle the rock. The fact that she comes from a hoops crazy community such as Mount Vernon, I'm gonna go out and say that she can hold her own on the hardwood.

Saluki Softball Loses An Ace

Photo Credit: Edyta B

Nikki Waters was darn near unhittable when she stepped into the circle. She went 15-2 overall and was a perfect 9-0 against Missouri Valley Conference competition.

However, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Waters is transferring to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to be closer to home.

That's a big blow to one of the Valley's best pitching staffs. SIU was already slated to lose lefty Katie McNamara to graduation. But don't fret Saluki Nation, head coach Kerri Blaylock is one of the best recruiters in the country and will likely have a resolution to this situation before you could blink twice.

Snubbed Again: Saluki Softball Left Out Of Tournament

Go figure the Bradley Braves to be spoilers.

When it's not Jim Les' greasy used car salesman look stomping on the sidelines as the Braves bested the Saluki men in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis this past March, the Bradley softball team shocked the Valley by beating the top two seeds in the conference tourney en route to a slot in one of the 16 NCAA Tournament regionals.

Bradley's first ever softball conference championship broke the curse of the host of the MVC Tourney not winning the damn thing. No word out of Peoria whether or not a goat, a black cat, a priest or the ghost of Hersey Hawkins were present to bless the occasion.

All I know is the Valley will not be represented by Creighton, whose program is noted as one of the best in the nation especially when Tara Oltman is in the circle. Or by my beloved alma mater, Southern Illinois, which finished with 33 wins and spent nine straight weeks in the USA Today Top 25 poll.

Instead, the Mid Major That Could will be represented by a 25-26 team that was nearly no-hit a month ago in Carbondale that happens to be riding the hot hand.

As for Saluki softball's future, well, I could only wish to be around for the ride for what's coming down the line.

Kerri Blaylock's squad returns its top three hitters and a strong core up the middle with senior-to-be second baseman Alicia Garza (.375 batting average), junior-to-be center fielder Chelsea Held (.964 on-base plus slugging) and sophomore-to-be shortstop Haley Gorman (.322 average, .369 OBP). However, SIU will need to find a replacement for the leadership and production of its outgoing seniors including left fielder Katie Schmidt, third baseman Katie Wagner and catcher Jayme Wamsley.

Southern's pitching staff loses my favorite interview, senior southpaw Katie McNamara, but will return sophomores Danielle Glosson (9 wins, 17 strikeouts in 114 innings) and Nikki Waters (15-2, 9-0 against MVC teams).

So wake me up when Blaylock's bunch takes the field at Charlotte West Stadium, also known as The Crown Jewel Of Saluki Athletic Facilities.

Softball left out of NCAA Tournament [SIUSalukis.com]

Host Braves Upset Saluki Softball

Amidst the storms in southern Illinois, I almost forgot the SIU softball team was in action in search of a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Unfortunately for the Salukis, when I was able to get Internet and power in Mount Vernon, Ill., I was disappointed to find out they were upended again by a lower-seeded team. And here's the kicker.

It was the host, Bradley. Excuse my while I head to the bathroom of this Holiday Inn and shove my index finger down my throat to induce vomiting.

(Seriously, of all the Valley programs, Bradley is likely the last one I'm cheering for.)

The Braves (24-26) knocked off Southern (33-13) in the semifinals and will move on to the championship game where they will play a game I do not care particularly about. Covering Saluki softball was fun all year and I was hoping the team would be able to pull out a MVC Tourney championship to secure an auto bid.

Now, it's all up in the air.

SIU spent nine weeks ranked in the USA Today Top-25 polls before it started a late-season slide which sent the team to a second-place finish. It's a shame the Salukis couldn't pull it off -- a day after being snubbed with only third baseman Katie Wagner and second baseman Alicia Garza representing the school as second-team all-conference players.

Seeing the Salukis in person throughout the year, and looking at some of the eye-popping numbers put up by Chelsea Held (.356 average, .548 slugging), Haley Gorman (.322 average, .369 on-base percentage) and Nikki Waters (9-0, 1.27 ERA in MVC games), I'm still trying to figure out Southern getting snubbed.

It doesn't matter though, the season is over ... for now. Kind of.

SIU could get an at-large bid and is deserving of one, but will have to agonizingly wait out the selection process which kicks off Sunday on ESPNU at 9 p.m. CT.

The Dosage: Meet Me Under The Arch Edition

I do not care that she is married.

As long as I am looking for love, I will be convinced that Scarlett is my soul mate.

Maybe I'll find true love during my four day vacation .. er.. business trip to St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament which begins later today.

And by true love I mean three wins for the SIU men's basketball team.

If you want a tourney preview not written by me, I suggest this bit by the Wichita Eagle, which houses Paul Sullentrop, who I feel is one of the best b-ball beat writers in the Valley.

I won't take credit for finding him, but I take suggestions when it comes to reading good writers.

But he still doesn't dress as well as I do.

Not many people do.

From Carbondale to St. Louis: The March to the Arch. SIU has got its work cut out for it and will need three wins to extend its consecutive postseason appearance streak to seven years.

If not, baseball and softball season are in full swing. [Salukis March begins under the Arch]

Saluki softball squeaks by, then smokes SEMO. No. 18 SIU took both games of its home opening series against Southeast Missouri State, beating the Redhawks 2-1 in game one, and 6-0 in game two. The Salukis are now 13-1. They're good and they're fun to watch. So far this season, I'm willing to say they are a sportswriter's dream. [Saluki softball sweeps SEMO in home opener]