Eureka Defeats Principia, Extends Win Streak to Six Games
ELSAH, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team stayed undefeated in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 14-8 win at Principia on Friday.
The Red Devils' bats continued to be red-hot. The team batted .378 on the day and tallied 14 hits, tying its season high. It was the team's eighth time in 18 games played that it has reached double figures in hits.
Sam Buduris (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community/McKendree), the SLIAC's top hitter, was among the heaviest hitters at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI. He was also a terror on the base paths, swiping a season-high five bases.
Leadoff hitter Cole Tanner (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Knox) also went 4-for-5, drew a walk, plated a run and scored three times. Garrett Flaagan (Eagle, Colo./Eagle Valley/Williston State) belted his first career home run as a Red Devil, contributed a double and had three RBI.
Brayden Williams (Chouteau, Okla./Poteau/Bacone) improved to 2-1 on the season on the mound after allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks and notched four strikeouts.
Friday was a bit of a back-and-forth affair, but the Red Devils led the whole way.
Eureka put three runs on the board right away. After Tanner led off with a single, Flaagan delivered a two-run blast to get things started.
A couple batters later, Buduris singled and proceeded to steal second and third base, setting up an RBI single by Chase Ulrich (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria/Illinois Central College).
The Panthers got one back and threatened for more, but the Red Devils caught a runner stealing and got a pop-out to leave a runner stranded.
The home team plated another in the fourth to briefly make it a one-run game, which led to an eventful fifth inning.
First, Eureka scored three runs on three hits and an error. Mike Dunne (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Lincoln Land) and Buduris had back-to-back RBI singles, and Buduris went on to score on a wild pitch. Then, in the bottom half, Principia's Gavin Matchell hit a two-run homer to make it 6-4.
Tanner drove in another run in the sixth, and two innings later, the Red Devils rallied for seven runs when the Principia pitching staff got in trouble. Flaagan and Dunne each drew bases-loaded walks, Buduris doubled to drive in two, and Hayden McKenna (Sheridan, Ill./Marquette Academy) and Ulrich each had sac fly RBI.
The home team never quite went away, though, as Josh Bayless recorded Principia's second two-run homer of the day in the bottom of the eighth and Ryan D'Amico had its third in the ninth.
Eureka's Jordan Kerby (Bixby, Okla./Crowder/Bacone) put any comeback hopes away with a groundout and strikeout to end the night.
The SLIAC-leading Red Devils (11-7, 5-0 SLIAC) will turn around and play two more against the Panthers (6-13, 0-5 SLIAC) on Saturday. The 1 p.m. game in Elsah will be considered a SLIAC contest and the series finale will be a non-conference contest.