“Friendly confines” are very kind to SIU

from The Daily Egyptian - April 19, 2023

Campus came to life during the power outage

One of the most sacred places for every sports team is its home field. Even if it’s a hilly field placed in the middle of a cornfield or a massive stadium in the middle of an urban city block, home field has a special place in athlete’s hearts.

It also has one in their minds.

According to Julie Partridge, a sport and exercise science psychologist at SIU, playing at home has many psychological benefits.

“You know where everything’s at, it feels comfortable,” she said.

Partridge stresses that comfort and consistency are some of the most important things about playing at home, and why athletes feel good doing so.

Every team strives to win in front of its home crowd, but not all are able to. Fortunately for the fans, SIU has done an outstanding job winning at home in the 2022-2023 athletic seasons.

The following numbers come from a sample of six team sports [men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and women’s soccer] records at home. To get a fair comparison across several sports, as some schools did not have some sports, win percentage was used to determine who won the most at home.

This was done by counting the number of total home games played [including ties] and the number of wins at home for each sport. The numbers for each sport were then added together to get a total number of home wins and home games. The number of home wins was then divided by the number of home games to derive win percentage.

This exercise was completed for every team in the Missouri Valley Conference, and the results were quite surprising. As of April 12, two of 12 teams won less than 50% of their home games, while another six won under 60% of their home games. An additional three teams checked in at under 70%, leaving just one team who won more than 70% of their home contests.

Drake topped the rankings in win percentage at 77%, but it also did not have baseball [UNI (61.53%) didn’t have baseball and Bradley (42.62%) didn’t have women’s soccer either]. For schools that had every sport measured, SIU was the top finisher, winning an impressive 67.8% of its home games.

Interestingly, the teams with the highest win percentages didn’t necessarily have the best attendance. Though only men’s and women’s basketball had attendance statistics available, the school with the highest total attendance per game was Murray State, who ranked only fifth in winning percentage. Drake, the school with the highest win percentage, finished second in total attendance per game. It was followed by SIU, who finished second in win percentage.

While the home field advantage can make things easier for athletes, Partridge said they need to channel the same feelings at away games.

“We would like for people to be as consistent as possible, no matter where they’re playing,” she said.

Partridge emphasizes emotional control too.

“Even when things are going really well, we want people to have a certain amount of emotional control,” she said.

“It is actually great when you’re playing well and you’re feeling like, ‘Man, I’m on a high right now, and I’m in the zone.’ But the problem is that you can’t really stay there… so when it starts to come down, we don’t want to bottom out either,” she said.

The crowd is a big psychological benefit of playing at home.

“I think for most people, it’s always nice to have fan support. When you look up in the stands and there are people there wanting to see you do well,”

Partridge said.

Beyond the athletes enjoying the crowd and playing better at home, many coaches also are appreciative for the home crowd.

Bryan Mullins, the men’s basketball head coach, recognizes and appreciates the impact of the crowd on game day.

After SIU’s February 5 win against Missouri State, Mullins said: “Great atmosphere. Thank you to all the fans, the Dawg Pound and everything… It’s been awesome these last couple games.”

Kelly Bond-White, the women’s head basketball coach shared a similar sentiment after the Salukis February 23 win against Indiana State.

“It makes a difference. It gives the kids energy, and they love playing in front of their home crowd,” she said.

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at grieser@dailyegyptian.com

Voss said, “We were not at all surprised that the public response when we announced the five names was heated…We were actually leaning into that. As marketers, we thought the worst-case scenario would have been for people to be indifferent about it, you know, that they just didn’t care and they kind of moved on with their lives.”

The name provides flexibility for the marketing team to create a vibrant and energetic atmosphere for Thrillbillies games.

“The first weekend on the first homestand, we will shoot a guy out of a cannon over a helicopter…There’s some more kind of standard baseball fare and things but we want it to be thrilling for all ages…Stuff like firework shows…But we’ll also have a guy in an ATV jumping over cars,” Voss said. “You know, what’s nice about the Prospect League season is it’s very abbreviated…So we’ve got 28 home games, and 28 opportunities as marketers to kill it and really put something special together there…We’re leaning into the thrill.”

Although gimmicks and fun will be had in the stands surrounding the game, general manager and field manager Ralph Santana intends to continue his work of helping aspiring players fulfill their dreams on the field. He is committed to helping them improve and has an experienced coaching staff.

“It’s always been something I’ve been driven by is to get them where they need to be,” he said. “One thing I can promise them is that they’re going to develop and be better players by the time they walk out of here… it’s something that the pros knew that we did very well, like we had such a structured program around here that they knew they were getting a polished player when they left here… I think our coaching staff is far better than anywhere else…and bringing back some familiar faces…that have played pro ball, so we’ll be well set off.”

Santana both played and coached for the Miners. In his first and only year playing with the team, he was voted Rookie of the Year and Most Exciting Player of the Year after hitting .342 and stealing 25 bases. When he became a coach, he helped lead the team to seven playoff berths including its 2012 championship, where he was named Coach of the Year. Santana is all about Southern Illinois and is excited to lead the charge to bring baseball back to the area.

“After they [the Miners] left I never thought I’d stepped foot on the field again. Never knew what was gonna happen, so to be back at the park that I helped build is awesome…I think I represent this town, I think I’ve represented this town since it started,” Santana said.

Also holding the general manager title at Z20 Sports Academy, a baseball and softball facility in Southern Illinois. Santana has given back scholarships to hundreds of college students. The facility offers lessons and training to younger athletes looking to achieve more and Santana intends to bring the style he teaches onto the diamond at Mountain Dew Park.

“I think that’s what I brought was passion, hard-nosed, blue-collar baseball to this town. And so, if anybody knows his town, and this town knows anybody, it’s me so it’s kind of like a perfect fit…So it’s something special to be back here and I feel like, you know, I’m a part of them and they’re a part of me,” Santana said.

The Thrillbillies’ skipper and GM faces early challenges as he has to deal with running a baseball team in its inaugural season. He isn’t sure when all his players will report to the team as they are still playing for their college squads, and he will be unfamiliar with the other players of the Prospect League just as much as the guys in his own clubhouse.

“That’s the tough part because everybody else will have a leg up on players because you know, they’ve either seen these players or players have played for them or they’ve gone to leagues and seen these players around. We haven’t. We’re going unseen and with a lot of local kids. We know just a little bit about them, and I haven’t got to actually see them play. So that’s going to be the toughest part, just trying to put a team together year one, to gel and to just, you know get on the same page with them and understand them as well as them understanding me,” Santana said.

“Some of our kids, we may not get until, you know, the second week of the season. Yeah, so, you know, like Hunter Ralls plays for SEMO, and SEMO is very good. And I think they’re gonna make a pretty big run and I mean, I don’t plan on having him till June,” Santana said.

Santana has known the fifth-year SEMO pitcher since he was 15 years old in high school and Ralls plans to play professional baseball after his stint with the Thrillbillies. The manager’s plan of setting Ralls up with a tryout and an opportunity to fulfill his dream is more rewarding for Santana than when he went through the process himself.

“I think I was blessed to be available to play for 10 years and understand how much of a dream come true that was for me… individually, it’s great but when you can help somebody else achieve their dreams and their goals, I think that’s even more satisfying than what I did for myself as a player, so that’s what I love about coaching,” Santana said. “It’s a fun process. It’s a tough process. That’s what people have to understand, it’s not an easy one, so I think I enjoy that the most.”

Sports reporter Howard Woodard can be reached at hwoodard@dailyegyptian.com.

15,AparticipantofNepalbowlsthefirstballintheInternationalSpringgamesApril. dailyegyptian.com2023attheRECcenterinCarbondale,Ill.ArjunTsapalasetty|atsapalasetty@