EC Baseball Falls Short to Hanover, 4-3

HANOVER, Ind. – The Eureka baseball team's spring break trip came to an end with a close, 4-3 loss at Hanover on Wednesday afternoon.

The Red Devils matched the home team in hits (6) and held a one-run lead heading into the ninth inning, but Hanover plated two unearned runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the ninth to snag the win.

Dean Moir (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead the Red Devils at the plate.

Kyle Christman (Peru, Ill./La Salle-Peru) also contributed a double, while Jake Carter (Carlinville, Ill./Carlinville) and Tate Stone (Washington, Ill./Washington) each had a single.

Left-handed pitcher J.D. Theile (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) only allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings. He tallied three strikeouts and retired the first 12 batters he faced.

The Red Devils got on the board with two runs off two hits in the second inning. Stone drove in Moir, who led off with a double to left, and later, Stone scored on a wild pitch to give EC a 2-0 lead.

Hanover didn't get answer until the bottom the seventh, when they evened the score after a solo home run and an RBI single.

EC regained the lead the following inning after Christman delivered a two-out double and Carter sent him home with an RBI single in the next at-bat.

That ended up being the last Red Devil highlight of the day.

Tucker Sams allowed two hits and two unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings after taking over for Theile.

The Red Devils (5-9) are scheduled to play Elmhurt and Illinois College in Jacksonville on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.