Eureka Earns First Win of Season Over Elmhurst, 7-4
NORMAL, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team notched its first win of the 2021 season on Friday afternoon with a 7-4 triumph over Elmhurst at the Corn Crib.
The Red Devils held off the Blue Jays in a close non-conference game to open a special weekend series at the big stadium in Normal.
The team dropped a 12-1 contest to Rockford in seven innings in the second game of the day.
Game 1: Eureka 7, Elmhurst 4
The Red Devils recorded a season-high seven runs on 11 hits and had particularly good production from the top of the order. The team's 1-3 batters went a combined 7-for-11 at the plate
Junior right-hander David Throw (Cary, Ill./Cary) picked up the win on the mound after limiting the Blue Jays to four earned runs in seven solid innings of work. He allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out four. And on multiple occasions, he helped the team get out of precarious jams.
Freshman Ryan Bredeson (Washington, Ill./Washington) threw two scoreless and hitless innings while getting one strikeout and only conceding one walk to record his first career save.
Elmhurst senior put the Blue Jays on the board off an RBI double during a rocky first inning, but Throw and the Red Devils found their way out of it while giving up one run.
Eureka came back in the bottom half, scoring two runs on two hits and one Elmhurst error.
Jimmy Peterson (Bloomington, Ill./Homeschooled) drove in an unearned run and Braden Cross (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) brought in another on a sac fly.
Elmhurst tied the game at 2-2 in third inning, but EC regained the lead with a three-run rally in the fifth.
Tate Stone (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Jelby Cheramie (Lockport, La./South Laforche) both singled to start the inning, and Peterson singled to right field for his second RBI of the day.
Then, Kyle Christman (Peru, Ill./La Salle-Peru) doubled and Dean Moir (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) walked, prompting an Elmhurst pitcher's change. Two batters later, Karter Hostetler (Morton, Ill./Morton) doubled to bring in two more.
The Red Devils kept the Blue Jays off the board in the sixth, but Romay struck again in the seventh with a two-run shot to the opposite field, trimming EC's lead to one run.
The team finally gave the pitching staff a little room to breathe in the eighth when Peterson scored on a passed ball and Cross delivered the last RBI single of the day.
After Throw and Bredeson each got strikeouts to end the seventh and eighth innings, the Blue Jays went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Christman went 3-for-4 with a double and scored two runs, including one on a play at the plate. Peterson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Cheramie, the leadoff hitter, went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored, while Hostetler recorded a pair of doubles.
Game 2: Rockford 12, Eureka 1 (7 inn.)
Eureka scored its only run in the second inning on an RBI groundout by Alex Barney (Sheldon, Ill./Milford) that scored Moir.
Rockford's Christian Pearcy held the Red Devils to one run on five hits in seven innings of impressive work. He struck out 10 and only walked two.
Cross went 2-for-3 with a double for EC, and Moir went 2-for-3 as well.
Coming Up:
Eureka will be back at the Corn Crib on Saturday for an 11 a.m. game against Rockford and a 5 p.m. game against Elmhurst.
