SLIAC Tournament Awaits Red Devils
EUREKA – The Eureka softball team is heading back to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in the first season under coach Juell Hodges.
On Tuesday at 5 p.m., the Red Devils, who finished third in the East, will take on the Webster Gorloks, who finished second in the West, in a SLIAC tournament quarterfinal matchup in St. Louis.
This is the first time the squad has earned a SLIAC Tournament appearance since the team won it all in 2019. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 campaign, and every team made it to the tournament last year.
The 2019 team came in as the favorite after sweeping Spalding in the last league doubleheader of the regular season and clinching EC softball's first SLIAC title in program history.
This team is more of an underdog, coming in with a 14-23 record on the season and a 9-11 mark in SLIAC play. The Red Devils entered the 2022 campaign predicted to finish seventh in the league with a young team that featured only two seniors and just a few players returning with much experience.
"I think that we were a little bit underestimated, and I don't think seeing us ranked that low scared our players," Hodges said. "If anything, they took the challenge head on."
This spring, Hodges' squad exceeded expectations, managing to stay competitive in most league doubleheaders, finishing in the top five in the league and taking games away from three of the four teams that finished ahead of it.
It has started with a pair of seniors – one who leads at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field, and one who leads in the pitcher's circle.
Shortstop and leadoff hitter Raelyn Payne recorded a SLIAC-leading .581 batting average in conference play this season. Her .581/.641/.919 slash line leads the league by a comfortable margin in all three categories. On the season, she has racked up a league-high 57 hits and league-high 21 doubles, along with three triples and three home runs. She has also tallied 45 stolen bases – setting a new single-season program record and swiping 20 more than anyone else in the league.
And, she has shown impressive plate discipline, posting league-high 19 walks and only striking out three times all season.
Sidney Wightman, meanwhile, has been the Red Devils' No. 1 starting pitcher during a season in which the team was light on experienced arms. She has been expected to carry the load, logging over 135 innings and notching nine wins, including a big one against Webster on April 16. Wightman is tied for second-most wins in the league.
As a team, the Red Devils are batting .300 and averaging 5.4 runs per game. After graduating the program's all-time home run leader in Morgan Ledbetter last year, Eureka has shown impressive power, notching 13 home runs with six different players recording at least one long ball. The team is second in the league in both homers and stolen bases (101).
After Payne, sophomore first baseman Bria Wessel has been the team's most reliable bat. She is batting .347/.400/.517 with a team-high four dingers and 41 RBI. She is second in the league in RBI and tied for second in home runs.
Versatile junior Christine Mepham and freshman outfielder Kate LeMasters are both hitting above .300 and have driven in double-digit runs.
Mepham, who originally came to Eureka as a catcher and earned a starting spot as an outfielder last year, stepped up and became the Red Devils' No. 2 pitcher this year. She has made 14 starts, picked up four wins and thrown 76 innings.
"The biggest thing that I was looking for this year was growth," Hodges said, "and I think I've seen that in every single one of our athletes."
Webster enters looking to repeat as tournament champions. Last year, the Gorloks ousted the Red Devils 4-0 in the quarterfinal round, then topped Spalding in the semifinals, Fontbonne in the winner's bracket game and Spalding again in the championship.
This year's squad is 19-14 on the season and 15-5 in SLIAC play. The Gorloks closed out the regular season on a seven-game win streak. They are hitting .352 as a team while averaging 7.6 runs per game and holding a conference-best team ERA of 3.74.
Reese Waggoner leads a deep pitching staff, going 9-3 with a 2.44 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 12 starts. Sarah Shepard has made 14 starts, picking up 7 wins and 2 saves while Braidyn Burr and Arianna Arias have each thrown over 30 innings. Burr owns a league-low 2.33 ERA.
Freshman Katie Croxall has led the way at the plate, batting .486 with 19 RBI. Arias and Jaelin Holdaway are both hitting over .400. Paige Thomas has knocked out a team-high four home runs, and Sheldon Underwood ranks fourth in the league with 19 stolen bases.
Webster leads the league in on-base percentage (.427) and walks (103), is second in runs (251) and RBI (225), and third in batting average (.352),
When Eureka and Webster met in the regular season, the Red Devils held off the Gorloks 5-3 in Game 1, but the Gorloks came roaring back with an 18-5 rout in Game 2.
"I think we're preparing for a good matchup tomorrow," Hodges said on Monday. "In our conference anyone is beatable and anyone can win on any given day, so we're prepared to play Thursday, but we have to fight to win on Tuesday first."