EC Softball Bests STLCOP, Snags Sixth Straight Win
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Eureka softball team snagged its sixth straight win and its third straight sweep on Thursday, improving to 14-4 on the season.
The Red Devils took care of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy with relative ease in a 7-1 first game, but they had to contain a late rally to prevail in a 10-8 Game 2.
Game 1: Eureka 7, St. Louis College of Pharmacy 1
Eureka No. 1 starter Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) improved to 8-2 on the season with a complete-game performance in which she limited STLCOP to one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out four along the way. It was her fourth time allowing one run or less this season.
The Red Devils scored seven runs on nine hits and did all of their damage in three innings, scoring three in the second, two in the third and two in the fifth.
The top three batters in the order – freshman Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) and juniors Sydney Shubert (Canton, Ill./Canton) and Morgan Osborn (Washington, Ill./Washington) – had two hits apiece. Payne tallied a team-high three RBIs, while Osborn and Klaire Wilmot (La Salle, Ill./La Salle-Peru) each had two-run doubles.
The Eutectics committed five errors in the game.
Game 2: Eureka 10, St. Louis College of Pharmacy 8
After a relatively straightforward opener, STLCOP made things more interesting in the second contest.
The Eutectics continued to commit errors in the field – tallying five on the game and 10 on the day – but they also found a way to score runs.
STLCOP registered one run in the first inning and another in the second to take a 3-0 lead over the Red Devils after two frames. EC got on the board with an RBI single by Morgan Ledbetter (Hanna City, Ill./Elmwood) in the third, scored a couple unearned runs in the fourth, then plated three in both the fifth and sixth.
The Red Devils had a 9-3 advantage going into the bottom of the sixth, but the Eutectics came alive with a five-run rally on five hits and one error to make it a one-run game.
After reliever Alisyn Showalter (Havana, Ill./Havana) came in and got the last out of the inning, EC added an insurance run on an RBI single by Adrianna Zeman (La Salle, Ill. / La Salle-Peru) and Showalter retired the side to notch her first save of the year.
Sidney Wightman (Waterloo, Ill. / Gibault Catholic) recorded the win to improve to 5-1.
Zeman led the Red Devils at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Shubert contributed three hits and two stolen bases. Ledbetter had a pair of hits and Allison Cagley (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) had a double.
Up Next: A St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference twin bill at Webster on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Devils are currently 6-2 in league play – good enough for fourth in the conference. With a pair of road wins, they can maintain their place in the standings, setting up a pivotal home series against Iowa Wesleyan next Wednesday (16-7, 7-3).