Westminster Holds Off Red Devils, 12-10, 9-8

FULTON, Mo. – The Eureka baseball team fell short in two close St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests at Westminster on Saturday.

The Red Devils brought the winning run to the plate in both games, but the Blue Jays held off EC, 12-10 and 9-8.

Game 1: Westminster 12, Eureka 10

The Blue Jays came from behind twice in the first game of the day.

After Eureka built a 6-1 lead in the first three innings, the home team rallied for seven runs in the fifth to take a two-run advantage.

When the Red Devils went back ahead 9-8 with a three-run sixth, the Blue Jays tied it in the bottom half and took the lead two runs the following inning.

EC got one back and made it a one-run game in the top of the eighth; Westminster plated another one in the bottom half to make it a two-run game.

In the ninth, the Red Devils got runners to the corners, but they were unable to move them around.

Dylan Hill (Steeleville, Ill./Steeleville) went 4-for-5 for the Red Devils with two home runs – a two-run blast in the second to put the Red Devils on the board and a solo shot in the third to make it 6-1. It was his second time notching multiple home runs in the same game. He now has a team-high nine dingers on the year.

Karter Hostetler (Morton, Ill./Morton) followed, going 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and a double.

Braden Cox (Washington, Ill./Illini Bluffs/Black Hawk) mashed his seventh long ball of the season. Lane Marlow (Camp Point, Ill./Camp Point Central/Roosevelt) contributed a double, while Caleb Wilson (Houma, La./Covington Christian) and David Hidden (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) each had singles.

Game 2: Westminster 9, Eureka 8

The second game of the day followed a different trajectory, but had the same result.

This time, the Red Devils found themselves in an early hole and had to rally back.

Eureka trailed 5-1 going into the third, then found a way to score two in the third and two in the fifth. Cox homered for the second time of the day in the fifth and EC picked up an unearned run to tie it up.

The Red Devils took the lead with another two-run inning in the sixth. Hidden hit a go-ahead RBI double and later scored on an RBI groundout to make it 7-5.

The Blue Jays, however, made it a one-run game with an unearned run in the sixth and regained the lead with two runs off three hits in the bottom of the seventh. They then plated one more in the eighth to make it a two-run game in the home team's favor.

The Red Devils threatened in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with a hit batsman and two singles before Mason Diederich (Washington, Ill./Washington) popped a sac fly RBI to center.

After that, Wilson singled to load the bases once again, but Westminster got Hidden to fly out to end it.

Wilson and Marlow each finished with three hits, with Wilson getting a double. Cox and Hostetler both went 2-for-4, with Cox producing the homer and plating a team-high three RBI.

Up Next

Eureka (15-17, 7-10 SLIAC) will next host Rose-Hulman (18-9, 9-5) in a non-conference doubleheader next Sunday at 12 p.m at Henry Sand Field.