EC Baseball Knocks off Knox on the Road

GALESBURG, Ill. – After a challenging week, the Eureka baseball team got back in the win column on Monday afternoon.

The Red Devils racked up six runs in the first two innings en route to a 10-4 victory over Knox at Blodgett Field.

EC tallied nine hits on the day. Senior leadoff hitter Sean Green (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) led the way with a triple, a double and a stolen base for the Red Devils. Dean Moir (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) doubled, singled and drew a walk. Jake Carter (Carlinville, Ill./Carlinville) also contributed a double, and Drew Thoele (Teutopolis, Ill./Teutopolis) swiped a pair of bases.

In his first career start as position player, right-handed pitcher Kyle Cashdollar (Morton, Ill./Morton) played shortstop and went 1-for-3 at the plate, recording his first career hit and leading the team with three RBIs.

In the top of the first inning, the junior came up to the plate with the bases loaded and two out, and delivered a two-run single that extended the lead to five. Then, in the seventh, he came up with a SAC fly RBI that put the Red Devils on the board during a three-run rally.

Freshman right-hander Brock Pettit (Ashland, Ill./A-C Central) picked up his second career win after holding the Praire Fire to four runs on 13 hits in seven innings – and fanning a career-high nine batters along the way.

Mason Diederich (Washington, Ill./Washington) came on in relief in the eighth and closed it out, only giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four in two scoreless innings.

Knox committed the game's only two errors in the first inning, and EC pounced on them, turning it into a five-run frame. Green took home after an errant throw, a run scored after Diederich reached on an error and Carter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before Cashdollar's connection drove in two more to complete the rally.

EC senior Joe Quinn (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) recorded two SAC fly RBIs – one in the fifth and one in the seventh, after Cashdollar's third RBI and Green's RBI triple.

EC's win snapped a five-game losing streak, and improved the squad's record to 10-18 on the season.

The Red Devils will host Rockford in another non-conference game on Wednesday at 2 p.m. On Thursday. they'll head on the road to face Westminster in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at noon.