Eureka Cruises to Dominant Sweep Against Principia
EUREKA – The Eureka baseball team completed a dominant three-game St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of Principia on Sunday.
After opening the series with a strong 4-2 win over the Panthers on Friday, the Red Devils returned to Henry Sand Field on Sunday and scored an 18-0 shutout and a 19-4 triumph to improve to 4-2 in SLIAC play.
It's the Red Devils' best start in conference play since 2008.
Game 1: Eureka 18, Principia 0 (7 inn.)
Eureka left-handed pitcher Mike Dunne (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Lincoln Land) was nearly unhittable on Sunday. He fanned a season-high 15 batters – the most by a Red Devil since Isaiah Taylor notched 17 K's in a 6-2 win at Iowa Wesleyan on April 13, 2018 – and only allowed six hits and two walks in seven scoreless innings. It was his second time reaching double-digit strikeouts and his second win of the season.
Dunne also helped his cause with a pair of hits, including his first home run as a Red Devil.
The maroon and gold racked up a season-high 18 hits.
Twelve different EC players recorded at least one hit and five had at least two. Nick Rulevish (Addieville, Ill./Okawville) went 3-for-4 and had a pair of doubles, while Braden Cox (Washington, Ill./Illini Bluffs/Black Hawks) went 3-for-4 and drove in a team-high four runs.
Austin Davis (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) also had a pair of doubles. Ethan Hedge (North Pekin, Ill./Pekin), Demetrius Schupp (La Salle, Ill./St. Bede Academy) and Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) each contributed one as well, giving Eureka eight extra-base hits. Tate Stone (Washington, Ill./Washington) singled twice.
Also producing hits in the drubbing were Cole Tanner (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Knox), Brenden Eigenbrod (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln), David Hidden (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) and Chase Ulrich (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria).
Eureka jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning with four runs on five hits, then added two more on three in the second. The home team went down in order in the third, and then went back to piling up more runs, notching three in the fourth, seven in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Game 2: Eureka 19, Principia 4 (7 inn.)
The hits and the running just kept coming for the Red Devils in the second half of the twin bill.
The Red Devils posted a season-high 19 runs on 18 hits, once again putting the game out of reach after just a few innings and ending it early by run rule.
The bats were accompanied by another quality pitching performance.
Junior Ryan Bredeseon (Washington, Ill./Washington) recorded the Red Devils' third straight complete-game, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and didn't allow a single walk. He gave up couple of solo home runs, but he posted five strikeouts and never allowed more than one run per inning.
At the plate, Rulevish had three hits, including a double and his first career home run while recording a team-high five RBI.
Karter Hostetler (Morton, Ill./Morton) went 3-for-4 with a double, and freshman Brandt King (Stillman Valley, Ill./Stillman Valley) recorded three hits for the first time in his career.
Cole Tanner (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Knox) knocked a pair of doubles, while Cox, Andrew Schulte (Summerfield, Ill./Lebanon), and Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) each doubled once. Dunne, Ulrich and Garard each had a hit as well.
As it did in the first game of the day, Eureka tallied eight runs in the first two innings. Then, leading by five in the fourth, the Red Devils doubled it with a five-run rally.
They proceeded to tack on two runs in the sixth and four more in the sixth.
Up Next
Eureka (6-10, 4-2 SLIAC) – winners of four of its last five – will host North Park (5-13) in a non-conference game on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
