Photo courtesy of Michelle Curl.
Photo courtesy of Michelle Curl.

Red Devils Sweep Webster, Extend Win Streak to Eight

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – It's been a productive week for Eureka softball.

After racking up six straight non-conference wins, the Red Devils scored a road sweep over St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Webster on Saturday to improve to 16-4 and 8-2 in league play.

EC took care of the Gorloks with a smooth 7-1 win in Game 1 and an emphatic 14-7 triumph in Game 2.

The pair of victories kept the fourth-place Red Devils in line for a meaningful SLIAC series against fifth-place Iowa Wesleyan (17-7, 8-3) on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Game 1: Eureka 7, Webster 1

EC ace Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) turned in one of her cleanest performances of the season thus far on Saturday, allowing just one run on three hits and zero walks in seven innings in the circle.

The win – her ninth of the season in 11 starts – marked the third time this spring that she has held an opponent to only three hits.

The Red Devils tallied 16 hits and scored six earned runs.

Sydney Shubert (Canton, Ill./Canton), Morgan Osborn (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Allison Cagley (Fairbury, Ill./Fairbury) all had three-hit games, with Cagley notching a game-high three RBIs.

Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) and Adrianna Zeman (La Salle, Ill./La Salle-Peru) both contributed a pair of hits, and everyone except for the pitcher had at least one base knock.

Eureka took a 1-0 lead after an RBI single by Cagley in the first inning, then scored twice in the third, fourth and sixth. Webster's only run came on an RBI single by Abby Burroughs with two on in the fourth.

Game 2: Eureka 14, Webster 7

The Red Devils followed a 16-hit Game 1 with a season-high 22-hit count in Game 2.

This time around, Payne, Shubert, Zeman and Faith Bachtold (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) all posted four hits.

Payne, a freshman, homered and tallied three RBIs from the leadoff spot, tying with designated hitter Klaire Wilmot (La Salle, Ill./La Salle-Peru) for a team-high.

The long ball was her sixth of the season, tying her with Smith for most home runs by a freshman in program history.

Shubert, Osborn, Ledbetter and all had doubles; Osborn and Wilmot recorded two hits apiece.

EC got it all started with a six-run first inning that included hit hits, two walks and an error, prompting a pitching change in the first frame. Webster trimmed the lead in half in the bottom half, but the Red Devils added four runs over the next three innings to take a more comfortable lead.

After the Gorloks came within three runs again with a three-run sixth, Eureka put together a four-run rally on six hits in the seventh, giving the visitors a seven-run lead.

Freshman Sidney Wightman (Waterloo, Ill./Gibault Catholic) collected the win after allowing four earned runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.

Smith recorded the last two outs for the Red Devils, conceding one run on four hits and striking out one.

Up Next: EC softball's home doubleheader against Harris-Stowe on Sunday has been postponed due to inclement weather. A makeup date is to be announced.