Ken Henderson 3 |
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04/21/2013
SIU was swept for the second time in 2013.
04/20/2013
Southern Illinois stranded eight runners in scoring position.
04/19/2013
All three of SIU's hits and and all three of its runs came in the ninth inning.
04/14/2013
The Salukis overcame a 4-0 first inning hole to avoid a sweep against the first place Bears.
04/13/2013
SIU committed a season-high five errors, and Missouri State capitalized, scoring four runs or more in three separate innings.
05/18/2013
Final game at Abe Martin Field.
05/16/2013
May 16, 2013
05/06/2013
April 13, 2013
05/06/2013
April 14, 2013
05/06/2013
April 16, 2013
Last updated on Dec. 3, 2012
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Ken Henderson enters his third season as head coach of the Salukis after guiding SIU to the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2012. The 2013 season will be his 23rd season as a member of the SIU coaching staff. In November of 2012, SIU extended Henderson's contract through the 2014 season. Henderson took over as the interim head coach following the passing of Dan Callahan after the 2010 season and had the interim tag removed following the 2011 season.
In 2012 Henderson guided SIU to a 31-28 record, an improvement by eight wins over his first season as head coach, and advanced to the championship game of the MVC Tournament despite being picked to finish sixth in the conference. Southern remained in the race for the conference's regular season championship and recorded its first season with a winning record since 2008. One of the season highlights included a victory over No. 19 Stetson as the Dawgs swept their way through the Bright House Invitational, hosted by Stetson.
In addition first baseman Chris Serritella was named a 2012 All-American by five different organizations. He was a Baseball America first-team All-American, the first in 31 years at SIU. Serritella won the 2012 MVC batting title and led the conference in seven other offensive categories.
Serritellawas drafted by the Phillies in the fourth round in 2012, and left-handed pitcherNathan Dorriswent to the Cubs in the 17th round. Henderson has coached a total of 34 players at Southern Illinois who have gone on to be drafted. Included in that list are 2009 World Series Champion Jerry Hairston, Jr. (currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers), Jason Frasor (currently with the Toronto Blue Jays) and P.J. Finigan, now an assistant coach with Henderson at SIU.
In Henderson's two seasons as head coach, the Salukis have garnered nine All-MVC spots, including seven on the 2012 squad. The 2012 team featured three first-team members, Austin Montgomery (utility), Chris Serritella (first base) and Jordan Sivertsen (outfield). The second team featured designated hitter Brock Harding and pitchers Todd Eaton, Cody Forsythe and Cameron Maldonado. Forsythe was a first-teamer in 2011, while Sivertsen was on the second team.
The Salukis also placed three players on the MVC's 2012 All-Tournament team with Brian Bajer, Todd Eaton and Chris Serritella.
In 2011, Henderson's first full season as interim head coach, the loyal Saluki and veteran coach guided Southern Illinois to a fifth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference, when the team was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. SIU did so without two of its top players in first baseman Chris Serritella and Lee Weld, who both missed the entire season with injuries. In addition, Aaron Snyder missed the majority of the season after he was projected to be a weekend starter for the Dawgs. Southern Illinois' 2011 roster featured 27 players, 19 of which were freshmen or sophomores.
Serritella was a first team All-MVC selection in 2010 when he hit .374 with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs, and Weld was Southern's top reliever in 2010 when he struck out a team-high 57 batters in 29 appearances.
Henderson also served as interim head coach in 1994. He took over the Saluki program on an interim basis midway through the year and led SIU to a 12-8 record under his direction. Henderson guided Southern to a winning record that season after the club started the year off winning just 15 of its first 33 games.
He came to Southern Illinois in the fall of 1990 as an assistant coach and held the title of associate head coach from 1993-2010.
Southern has hit over .300 in five seasons under his watch, including in 2010 when the Salukis hit .308, the highest team batting average since SIU also hit .308 in 1999. The Salukis also belted 52 home runs in 2010, which was the most in 12 years. In 1997 and 1998, Henderson led the Salukis to back-to-back seasons with 70 or more home runs, with the 1997 squad setting the school record with 75 homers.
Henderson's squads over the years have also been able to hang their hats on defense.
In 2002, he led SIU's defense to an impressive .969 fielding percentage, as the Salukis led the Missouri Valley Conference and finished tied for 14th in the nation.
In both 2003 and 2004, SIU ranked among the Top 10 in double plays per game, leading the nation in 2003 and finishing ninth in 2004.
In his 27 years coaching at the Division I level, which included three-year stints at Kansas State (1984-86) and Oral Roberts (1987-89), Henderson has helped guide his teams to a 798-773-2 record. He enters the year with a 66-70 record in two-plus seasons as head coach.
Prior to joining Southern Illinois for the 1991 season, Henderson served as an assistant coach at Oral Roberts where he assembled several recruiting classes that ranked among the nation's elite by Collegiate Baseball. In 1987, he helped lead ORU to a 49-14 record and runner-up finish at the NCAA West I Regional.
A 1983 graduate of Missouri Southern State, Henderson played for one of the nation's top NCAA Division II programs. Following graduation, he began his coaching tenure at his alma mater before moving on to coach at Kansas State from 1984-86.
A native of Vinita, Okla., Henderson is in his 29th season coaching at the NCAA Division I level. He and his wife, Pam, reside in Carterville. They have two sons, Keegan (18) and Connor (13).
