Eureka Scores First SLIAC Win in Monday Split With Principia
CHILLICOTHE, Ill. – David Throw (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove H.S.) struck out eight over 6.1 innings to earn his second collegiate win, Mason Diederich (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) recorded the final two outs for his third career save and Sean Green (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S./Robert Morris-Peoria) delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the fifth inning to send the Eureka College baseball team to a 5-3 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Principia in the opener of a league doubleheader in Chillicothe, Ill. The Panthers broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning of the nightcap en route to a 1-0 win.
Eureka's record after the Monday split is 4-9-1 overall and 1-6 in the SLIAC. The game-one win marked the first league triumph for first-year head coach Jerry Rashid.
Monday's games were moved to nearby Chillicothe, Ill. after Sunday snowfall made Henry Sand Field unplayable in Eureka.
Game 1: EC 5, Principia 3
Throw pitched into the seventh inning in his second career start to improve to 2-0 this spring. He struck out eight, allowing only four hits and one earned run. Diederich faced the final three batters, working around a single to finish the job and collect his third collegiate save.
Green, Ray Vogel (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone H.S.) and Evan Smith (Moline, Ill./Moline H.S./Sauk Valley) had two hits apiece in the opener. Smith drove in two.
Principia struck first in the top of the fourth inning with a pair of unearned runs. An error and a double put runners in scoring position before a balk allowed Ryan Eisenhauer to trot home for the game's first run. An RBI fielder's choice two batters later swelled the PC cushion to 2-0. Parker Davidson's one-out double was the only hit of the inning.
Vogel's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth got the Red Devils on the board before a three-run fifth inning gave the hosts the lead for good. A leadoff walk to Mike Redmond (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) and a sacrifice bunt set the stage for Smith, who yanked a run-scoring double down the left-field line for a 2-2 tie. Green followed with a double deep into the gap to score Smith and the EC lead was 3-2. Two batters later, Grant Mullin (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) provided insurance with a single that scored Green for a 4-2 cushion.
Another run-scoring hit from Smith pushed the EC lead to 5-2 in the sixth. Throw and Diederich worked around an RBI single by Eisenhauer in the seventh before Diederich forced Davidson to pop out to end the game with the tying run on the base paths.
Game 2: Principia 1, EC 0
Joe Quinn (Coal City, Ill./Coal City H.S./Illinois Valley) was outstanding in his first start in Maroon and Gold. The left-hander struck out nine and scattered five hits over 7.2 innings. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
The Eureka lineup was limited to four hits, led by a 2-for-4 effort from Redmond.
Eisenhauer's two-out single through the right side of the infield plated Zach Grennie in the top of the eighth for the only run of the game.
The Red Devils stranded 12 base runners in the nightcap, including runners in scoring position in each of the final five innings. Braxten Ary (Manito, Ill./Midwest Central H.S.) coaxed a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth and later stole second base, but Principia reliever Sean Hannah induced a foul out to end the game.
Alex Stamos pitched 7.0 scoreless innings for PC to secure his fourth win of 2018. He worked around four walks.
Up Next
Eureka will break from league action Thursday in a 3 p.m. non-conference tilt with Lincoln Christian at Henry Sand Field. SLIAC competition resumes Saturday at 3 p.m. when 22nd-ranked Webster visits to kick off a three-game series at Henry Sand Field.
