Softball Notebook: Non-Conference Foes Highlight Upcoming Stretch
EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College softball team will look to return to the win column this week, taking on a pair of non-conference opponents in mid-week doubleheaders and welcoming St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Blackburn for a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
ABOUT EUREKA
The Red Devils have an even 10-10 overall record and 3-5 SLIAC mark after dropping five of six conference contests over the weekend.
On Friday, freshman pitcher Erin Smith threw her third complete-game shutout of the season and freshman designated player Morgan Osborn went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI, driving the Red Devils to a 4-0 win in the nightcap of a SLIAC doubleheader with Iowa Wesleyan in East Peoria, Ill. The Tigers came from behind to win game one, 2-1.
Saturday, the Red Devils dropped both contests of a SLIAC doubleheader at Westminster. The Blue Jays won the opener, 4-1, before coming from behind to steal game two, 7-6. The Red Devils were held to two hits in the opener. Junior right-hander Kali George threw 6.0 innings in the circle. Sophomore shortstop Kerrigan Dura, George and Bridget Bankes had two hits apiece to lead EC's 10-hit attack in game two. Lexi Litwiller and Dura each doubled.
Eureka played its third SLIAC doubleheader in as many days on Sunday, landing on the wrong end of a pair of league decisions with Webster in a 6-4 setback in game one and a 12-8 defeat in game two in Webster Groves, Mo. Litwiller, Dura and Osborn collected two hits apiece in the opener. Only two of the six runs to score against George in the circle were earned. Dura had three of the Red Devils' 11 hits in game two. Osborn and Madaline Kane each doubled as part of a two-hit effort. Kane finished with three RBI.
For the year, Dura continues to lead the EC offense with a .448/.536/.621 line in 72 plate appearances. The second-year shortstop leads the Red Devils with 26 hits, 17 runs scored and 36 total bases. She has struck out only twice. Litwiller has also been a key contributor in the Eureka lineup, hitting .393/.541/.500 in 74 plate appearances. Additionally, Osborn is hitting .328 with a team-best seven doubles while George and Courtney Kurtz share the team lead with 14 RBI apiece.
George and Smith continue to handle the pitching duties. George, who struck out a career-high 10 in Friday's opener against Iowa Wesleyan, has thrown 66.1 innings with a 2.64 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Smith's ERA sits at 3.91 in 48.1 innings with 31 strikeouts.
HARRIS-STOWE AT EUREKA (Tuesday DH at 2 p.m.)
Eureka is scheduled to begin the week with a 2 p.m. non-conference doubleheader against NAIA Harris-Stowe on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Hornets own a 1-17 overall record and are winless in the American Midwest Conference at 0-14. HSSU's lone victory of the season was a 3-2 triumph over Iowa Wesleyan on March 22.
The Hornets are hitting .187/.212/.234 as a team with 109 strikeouts through 18 games. Alix Adams is the team's top hitter with a .353 average (12-for-34) in 14 appearances.
Two HSSU pitchers have combined to throw 77.0 of HSSU's 89.1 innings. Courtney Norris is the top Harris-Stowe option in the circle, logging 50.1 innings and earning the March 22 win over Iowa Wesleyan. Nakeyah Bradford has totaled 26.2 innings.
The 2017 season is Shontele Allen's first as head coach.
The Red Devils and Hornets have met twice previously. Eureka won both games of a doubleheader on April 14, 2013 in Eureka.
EUREKA AT ROBERT MORRIS-SPRINGFIELD (Wednesday DH at 3 p.m.)
Eureka will play the return games of home-and-home doubleheaders with Robert Morris-Springfield when the Red Devils travel to the state capitol this Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Eagles are 8-16 this season and have lost 10 of their last 12 games since visiting Eureka last month.
Senior infielder Taylor Hastings owns a .392/.435/.658 line to lead an offense that is hitting .297 as a team. Five players that have logged at least 55 at-bats are hitting .309 or better.
Many of RMU's woes have come in the pitching circle. The Eagles' team ERA is 7.37 and no RMU hurler has an ERA lower than 4.99. Callina Rockey has thrown a team-high 60.0 innings and Holly Jones owns the 4.99 ERA.
Boyd Nowicki is in his fifth season as head coach at RMU-Springfield. He owns a 4-13 record in 17 previous meetings with EC. Former Eureka head coach Stacey Sparks (2009-12) is an assistant on the RMU staff. Sparks led the Red Devils to their first-ever SLIAC Tournament appearance in 2010.
Counting last month's sweep in Eureka, the Red Devils are 15-13 against the Eagles since 2004. EC has won seven in a row over RMU and 13 of its last 14 since April 3, 2013.
BLACKBURN AT EUREKA (Saturday DH at Noon)
The Red Devils will get back to league competition Saturday when Blackburn comes to town for a noon doubleheader. The Beavers enter the week with a 4-10 overall record, an 0-6 SLIAC record and are scheduled to visit Webster Wednesday before squaring off against the Red Devils on Saturday. BC has lost six straight games since sweeping a four-game series from NCCAA Ecclesia (Ark.) on March 15-16.
Despite the early-season struggles, the Beavers are hitting .285 as a team, anchored by a .439 mark (18-for-41) from freshman Lexi Yockey. Junior Daniele Burnell hits .382 and junior Hannah Goett hits .340.
Two BC pitchers have handled all 84.0 innings of work. Sophomore Jensen Ballinger and freshman Kaitlyn Wade have started seven games apiece, combining for a 6.08 ERA and 22 strikeouts through the season's first 14 games.
Kerry Crum is in his second season as head coach in Carlinville. The Brockton, Ill. native previously coached at NAIA Benedictine-Springfield.
Blackburn has been one of Eureka's most frequent opponents over the last two decades. The Red Devils own a 23-15 record against the Beavers in 38 matchups since 1996, including a 13-7 record in games played in Eureka. EC has won five in a row over BC, seven of the last eight and swept last season's doubleheader in Carlinville on April 25, 2016. Blackburn has lost eight in a row in Eureka, last earning a victory on April 26, 2008.