Hefferman: Kopach always off and running for Saluki baseball | Sports Column |
Todd Hefferman | thesouthern.com Tonight A few clouds overnight. A stray shower
or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F
Mika Zibanejad
Jersey. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Updated: April 25, 2017 @ 3:52 am SIU's
Connor Kopach slides into second base in the fourth inning, but is forced out as
Austin Peay's Max Remy was able to keep his foot on the bag and hold onto the
ball after making a difficult catch at Itchy Jones Stadium Tuesday. Todd
Hefferman Todd Hefferman has covered SIU athletics since 2008. A University of
Iowa grad, he is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and a
Heisman Trophy voter. Whenever Todd Hefferman posts new content, you'll get an
email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent
once a day, and only if there are new matching items. SIU's Connor Kopach slides
into second base in the fourth inning, but is forced out as Austin Peay's Max
Remy was able to keep his foot on the bag and hold onto the ball after making a
difficult catch at Itchy Jones Stadium Tuesday. Ty King was one of the few
pitchers from Tennessee Tech to even glance at the runner at second base Sunday,
but there was a good reason for that.SIU's Connor Kopach never seems to be happy
with first base. The junior second baseman set a Northwoods League record with
50 stolen bases last summer, and was looking for No. 26 this season in the
fourth inning with a big lead off second base. Kopach, a 6-foot, 175-pound
speedster out of Westmont, was about a third of the way toward third before
sliding in ahead of Trevor Putzig's tag.It wasn't all out of instinct. "It's
based on the pitcher's leg kick, and the pitch I think he's gonna throw here
because it's a lot harder to get to third base," said Kopach, whose 26 stolen
bases on 30 attempts this spring are more than he had his previous three seasons
Rick Nash
Jersey, combined. "It's a shorter throw. Just trying to figure out a lot of
stuff, and just try to get the best jump possible."Kopach stole four bases in
SIU's 13-8 win over the Golden Eagles, who were ranked 26th in the country by
Collegiate Baseball. His four bags tied for the most stolen bases in one game
this season in the NCAA, and were the most by a Saluki since 1992. Kopach's 26
steals on 30 attempts rank third in the NCAA. SIU's leadoff hitter went 3 for 4
Sunday to set the table for the Salukis (21-20), who finished off a three-game
sweep with an unusual amount of offense. SIU scored 29 runs off 37 hits in the
series after getting just 12 runs in its previous five games.Saluki first
baseman Greg Lambert, who drove in seven runs Sunday, one off the school record,
said it all started at the top."If he hits a single, it's basically a triple,"
Lambert said. "He gets on base and steals some bases, it helps some guys in the
middle of the lineup, me, Ryan (Smith), Logan (Blackfan), Jake (Hand) relax at
the plate. It makes it a lot easier to hit him in."With seven stolen bases this
weekend, SIU earned its 70th swipe in 93 tries, the most since 1995. With three
more steals, Kopach will enter the Salukis' top 10 all-time for one year and tie
Jim Dwyer's 29 bags in 1971. With 16 games left on the schedule, barring
rainouts, Kopach could make a run at Bert Newman's record of 42 set in 1976.•
MVC to host NCAA men's basketball regionals: The Missouri Valley Conference was
awarded an NCAA men's basketball tournament regional in Kansas City in 2019 and
a first/second-round site in St. Louis in 2020 by the association last week.The
Valley will host a regional semifinal and final at the Sprint Center in Kansas
City, Missouri, in 2019 and first and second-round games at the Scottrade Center
in St. Louis in 2020. It will be the league's second time hosting at the Sprint
Center, which had first and second-round games in 2013, and the fourth NCAA
Tournament event at the Scottrade Center. The Valley hosted a men's regional
there in 1998, second and third-round games there in 2014 and first and
second-round games in 2016. I understand and agree that registration on or use
of this site consitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.Drake
was also awarded a first/second-round site in the 2019 tournament at Wells Fargo
Center in Des Moines.The Valley has also hosted two women's basketball Final
Fours at the Scottrade Center
https://www.shopfornyrangers.com/59-pavel-buchnevich-jersey,
in 2001 and 2009, and the men's Final Four at the Edward Jones Dome in 2005.
Between 1998-2010, the Valley hosted nine NCAA men's or women's tournament
events in St. Louis.• The NFL draft begins Thursday night in Philadelphia, live
on ESPN beginning at 7, and runs through Saturday. Former Salukis Chase Allen,
Josh Straughan and Deondre Barnett have received the most noise from NFL teams
off this year's team.Former Saluki linebacker Jayson DiManche, who was out of
the NFL in 2016, is back in with the San Francisco 49ers. He signed a free agent
deal earlier this month. He played in 29 games between 2013-15 with Cincinnati
and Cleveland after signing with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent.Tight
end MyCole Pruitt is still with the Bears after joining them late last season.
Pruitt played in all 16 games for Minnesota in 2015 as a rookie, starting three
games, but only got into two last season before signing with Chicago
https://www.shopfornyrangers.com/37-jimmy-vesey-jersey.
Pruitt played in two games with the Bears, catching one pass for six
yards.Former SIU defensive end Ken Boatright is fighting for a roster spot with
the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. Former Saluki safety Anthony
Thompson, a Montreal native, played in all 18 games for the Lions last season
after getting drafted in the second round. He had eight tackles on defense and
six on special teams. TODD HEFFERMAN covers SIU athletics for The Southern
Illinoisan. Contact him at todd.hefferman@thesouthern
https://www.shopfornyrangers.com/46-marc-staal-jersey.com,
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