The Missouri State baseball team (15-6, 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference) returns to league play this weekend with a three-game home set against Southern Illinois (12-8, 2-1). The Salukis, picked to finish third in the MVC, are the second opponent in a three-week conference stretch during which the Bears will play all three league teams picked to finish ahead of them in the standings. All three games of the series can be heard on KBFL-1060 AM.

Southern Illinois is 12-8 overall and 2-1 in MVC play after taking its opening series with Indiana State last weekend. Preseason all-conference catcher Mark Kelly leads the Salukis with 20 RBIs on a .315 batting average, while SIU hits .292 and has totaled more walks (109) than strikeouts (102) thus far in 2008.

Flamethrower Cody Adams (2-1, 2.93 ERA) is the ace of a pitching staff that has a 4.12 ERA. Fellow weekend starters Shawn Joy (2-2, 3.68) and David Kington (1-0, 2.53) round out a solid rotation. Reliever Daniel Wells has been the go-to man out of the bullpen, accumulating a 1.80 ERA in 12 appearances.

Missouri State holds a 45-27 lead in the all-time series with Southern Illinois but has lost eight of the last 11 meetings.

Live stats for most Missouri State baseball games will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Just click "Live Stats" on the left side of the page and select the appropriate game.

Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978) is in his 26th season as head coach of the baseball Bears and has a career record of 879-542 (.619). Guttin became the first coach at Missouri State (in any sport) to reach the 800-win mark with the May 11, 2005, win over Kansas at Hammons Field. In 2003, Guttin led the Bears to the NCAA Division I College World Series for the first time in school history. Guttin has been a conference Coach of the Year nine times with three of those coming in the Valley and six coming during the Bears’ years in the Mid-Continent Conference. During Guttin’s tenure, the Bears have made seven Division I NCAA Tournament appearances -- six in the last 13 years.

Missouri State split a pair of midweek games at Southeast Missouri State, losing 6-2 on Tuesday after the Redhawks bombed three home runs, but rebounding to score two runs on a two-out error in the ninth inning to win 7-6 on Wednesay. The Bears were down to their final strike on three consecutive batters before winning.