Leading Off
•  Bradley will continue what is now a season-long, 11-game home stand by hosting Missouri Valley Conference rival Southern Illinois in a 3-game weekend series at Peoria Chiefs Stadium.
•  The Braves are trying to snap a 12-game Valley losing streak, the program's longest league skid since a 14-game drought during the 1991 season.
•  Bradley enters the SIU series having won back-to-back games versus Northern Illinois and Eureka and will be shooting for its second 3-game winning streak of the season (five straight W's March 9-20).
•  Bradley enters the weekend tied with Creighton for The Valley's top team batting average (.296) and leading the league at 6.2 runs per game, but the Braves are last in the MVC in team earned run average (6.11) and fielding percentage (.945).
•  Senior LF Mike Tauchman is a leading candidate for MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year as he leads the league in hitting at .413, including .436 in conference play.

Series Notes
Southern Illinois leads 79-68-1
•  Bradley owns a 36-24 home record against the Salukis, including an 8-7 record at Peoria Chiefs Stadium.
•  Southern Illinois took 3-of-4 games last season, including a 9-8 decision in 10 innings in the second round of the MVC Tournament.
•  Bradley has won the last four Friday night home games versus SIU by a combined 18-2 score, including shutout wins in the last two Friday homers.