Red Devils Rally, Earn First Win at Austin, 5-2
SHERMAN, Texas – The Eureka softball team scored three runs with two outs to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning and seized a 5-2 victory over Austin on Wednesday.
After starting the inning with back-to-back groundouts, Bria Wessel (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone) singled and Macey Whisker (Washington, Ill./Washington/Illinois Central College) doubled to put two runners in scoring position.
Austin made a pitching change, then KayLee Hohlbauch (Arcola, Ill./Arcola/Lincoln) singled through the right side to bring in two runs to make it 4-2. After that, Tatum Trotter (Springfield, Ill./Glenwood) reached on an error, Kacy Dunlap (Mount Sterling, Ill./Brown County) walked to load the bases, and Farrah Michaels (Mansfield, Ill./Blue Ridge) drew another one to make it 5-2.
The 'Roos put a runner on in the bottom of the inning, but that ended up being their only runner in the last two innings.
The dramatic finish resulted in the Red Devils' first win of the 2023 season.
Trotter earned her first collegiate win in the circle after holding Austin to two earned runs on 10 hits and two walks and striking out a pair. The only runs she conceded were on a two-run homer by Austin's Chrysi Hemby in the first inning.
With two outs and two on in the top of the second, Michaels placed a single in left center to drive in two runs and even the score.
Eureka notched eight hits on the day, with Hohlbauch and Wessel each going 2-for-4 to lead the way. In addition to Whisker and Michaels' big hits, Delaney Douglas (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) and Angie Valenzuela (Turlock, Calif./Turlock) each contributed one as well.
For the third straight game, Eureka didn't commit a single error.
Game 2: Austin 15, Eureka 5 (5 inn.)
Austin came back strong in Game 2 and posted 10 runs in the first two innings.
The Red Devils led off with a homer in the second inning and tallied three runs on five hits and an error in the third, but the 'Roos regained its double-digit lead with a five-run fourth. Eureka scored once and loaded the bases in the fifth, but the home team got back-to-back outs to put the game away early.
Wessel went 3-for-3 and belted her first homer of the season in the second inning to put the Red Devils on the board. It was the fifth dinger of her career. The junior also singled to drive in a run to ignite the Red Devils' third-inning rally.
Ashlyn Voyles (Blue Ridge, Ill./Farmer City), Kloey Wheeler (Farmington, Ill./Farmington Central/Heartland) and Christine Mepham (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) each had a pair of hits in the loss, while Whisker, the team's hits leader, produced a single.
Despite the loss, the Red Devils extended their errorless games streak to four.
Up Next
With their first win under their belt, the Red Devils (1-5) will wrap up their spring break trip on Thursday with an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Dallas (3-7).