Eureka Falls to Rockford, Elmhurst at Corn Crib
NORMAL, Ill. — The Eureka baseball team completed a long weekend of baseball at the Corn Crib with a pair of tough non-conference losses.
The Red Devils fell to Rockford 12-1 in eight innings in the opening game of the day and dropped an 8-3 contest to Elmhurst in the late game.
Game 1: Rockford 12, Eureka 1
Eureka scored the first run of the game in the first inning when Jimmy Peterson (Bloomington, Ill./Homeschooled) walked and scored on a throwing error.
After that, though, the Red Devils couldn't find a way to manufacture any more runs.
Rockford's Logan Streit limited EC to one run on two hits and three walks while striking out seven in six innings.
Karter Hostetler (Morton, Ill./Morton) had a double and Jelby Cheramie (Lockport, La./South Laforche) and Kyle Christman (Peru, Ill./La Salle-Peru) each singled.
Rockford racked up 12 runs on 15 hits, 10 walks and one Eureka error.
Game 2: Elmhurst 8, Eureka 3
For nearly eight innings, the Red Devils were right there were Elmhurst, but in the eighth inning, the Blue Jays scored four runs on four hits and sealed the win.
The Red Devils scored three runs on eight hits and five walks.
Christman went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs. Tate Stone (Washington, Ill./Washington) went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Peterson and Braden Cross (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) each doubled and Dylan Hill (Steeleville, Ill./Steeleville) also had a triple.
As they did in Game 1, Eureka struck first. Christman produced an RBI groundout that put EC on the board. Elmhurst put two on and scored on a throwing error in the bottom half to tie the game, then took the lead following a wild pitch in the second.
The Blue Jays tacked on another in the fourth to make 3-1.
Christman's RBI triple in the fifth scored Stone in the fifth to make it a one-run game, but Elmhurst manufactured another run in the bottom half.
It stayed 4-2 until Cheramie's bases-loaded walk in the eighth temporarily made it a one-run game again.
The Red Devils got two outs right off the bat, then got into trouble with back-to-back singles and a hit batsman. After a pitching change, the Blue Jays scored off a two RBI single by Trey Romay and a two-run double by Paul Fomby.
On the mound, Trevor Wingard (Decatur, Ill./Meridian) struck out eight while conceding four runs on five hits and three walks over four innings.
Ryan Bredeson (Washington, Ill./Washington) added four strikeouts in relief. He allowed three runs on three hits and one walk in 3 2/3.
Coming Up
The Red Devils (1-8, 1-4 SLIAC) will host Westminster (3-2, 0-2) in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday at 1 p.m and 4 p.m.