Louisiana College Clips Red Devils, 2-1

PINEVILLE, La. – The Eureka College baseball team rallied to tie Louisiana College in dramatic fashion Friday night, but the Wildcats walked off with a 2-1 non-conference victory thanks to Sully Martin's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning as part of the Marler Ford Classic in Pineville, La.

Trailing 1-0, junior Kyle Maki (Virginia, Minn./Virginia H.S.) was hit by a pitch to start the top of the ninth inning. Maki moved to third after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, setting the stage for a game-tying, two-out RBI single from sophomore second baseman Jake Miller (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.).

Miller's heroics were quickly overshadowed by the Wildcats' ninth inning. Ashton Martin collected a leadoff single before advancing to second base on an error in the EC infield. A walk and a fielder's choice moved the winning to third base for Sully Martin, who singled to center field to score Ashton Martin for the 2-1 victory.

Prior to the ninth-inning rally, EC loaded the bases in the eighth behind walks to Jake Carter (Carlinville, Ill./Carlinville H.S.) and Grant Mullin (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita H.S.) and an infield single from Ray Vogel (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone H.S.). LC reliever Austin Taylor ultimately got a strikeout to wiggle out of the jam with the 1-0 lead intact.

The Red Devils received an outstanding start from junior left-hander Isaiah Taylor (Princeton, Ill./Princeton H.S.). Making his first pitching appearance in a Eureka uniform, Taylor allowed four hits and an unearned run over 6.0 innings. He struck out six.

Eureka will play twice Saturday in the Marler Ford Classic in Pineville. The Red Devils will play Belhaven at 10 a.m. before a 4 p.m. rematch with Louisiana College. The start time to both games were moved up several hours due to the threat of inclement weather.