Eureka Bests Westminster on High-Scoring Senior Day, 23-16
EUREKA – The Eureka baseball team came out on top in an extremely high-scoring Senior Day contest against Westminster on Sunday, winning 23-16.
As they did in Saturday's series opener, the Red Devils erased a sizable deficit and powered past the Blue Jays.
After trailing 8-0 through 1 1/2 innings, Eureka racked up 23 runs on 20 hits and prompted pitching change after pitching change en route to the win.
The Red Devils rallied for six runs in the second inning, five runs in the third and seven runs in the fourth, but the visitors kept taking advantage of EC mistakes and chalking up runs of their own.
Eureka made it a two-run game after putting up six hits on four hits in the second inning. The surge included back-to-back home runs by senior Chase Ulrich (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria/Illinois Central College) and junior Sam Buduris (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka/McKendree). Ulrich's was a three-run bomb to left-center and Buduris launched a solo shot to straightaway center.
The Blue Jays answered with a three-run homer by Payton Whitehaad in the third to extend the lead to five, but EC picked up where it left off, notching five runs on six hits to tie the game at 11-11. Among them was a three-run homer to left field by senior Garrett Flaagan (Eagle, Colo./Eagle Valley/ Williston State).
When Westminster picked up an unearned run in the fourth, Eureka got it back and then some, striking for seven runs on six hits.
The home team never trailed again after that. They manufactured a run in the fifth, and then tacked on two more in the seventh after Westminster cut it to six in the sixth.
The Blue Jays trimmed the lead to six again in the eighth, but the Red Devils plated two more in the bottom half to take a game-high eight-run advantage.
Westminster scored the final run of the game in the ninth, ending a three-game series that featured an unreal total of 86 runs between the two teams.
Aside from the trio of moonshots, the majority of the offensive highlights came from senior catcher Kelton O'Grady (Camp Verde, Arizona/Camp Verde), who batted 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, a walk and four runs scored.
In the third inning, he drilled one into the left field corner and sprinted all the way around the bases for what appeared to be an inside-the-park home run until the umpire ruled the ball out of play and sent him back to second base. Flaagan homered in the next at-bat.
David Hidden (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) and Nickolas Cartmill (Burleson, Texas/Burleson/Bacone) both contributed three hits, with Hidden knocking his first career triple and Cartmill posting a double.
Flaagan and Ulrich each finished with two hits and six RBI. Buduris added a double to go with his home run.
Mike Dunne (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Lincoln Land) went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBI in the leadoff spot, while Nick Rulevish (Addieville, Ill./Okawville) contributed two hits. Eight Red Devils tallied at least one hit and drove in at least one run.
Jackson Green (Terrell, Texas/Terrell/Bacone) recorded the win on the mound on a day when both teams turned to their bullpen frequently. He came on in the fourth and threw four innings, allowing just one earned run on one hit and five walks and striking out three.
Conclusion of Saturday's Game 2: Westminster 11, Eureka 4
The second game of Saturday's doubleheader was suspended due to darkness in the top of the eighth inning.
The Blue Jays were clinging to a 5-4 lead at the time. When play resumed on Sunday, they gained breathing room with four runs on one hit in the eighth and extended their lead to seven runs with two more runs in the ninth to secure a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference split.
On Saturday, the Red Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the inning. Green and Buduris had back-to-back doubles, and Ulrich had an RBI groundout.
The Blue Jays then scored five runs over the next six innings to take a 5-3 lead. An RBI double by Buduruis in the seventh made it a one-run game before it was suspended.
Buduris went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two stolen bases. Cartmill went 3-for-5 with one double and two stolen bases.
Green notched a single to go with his double and Hidden had a pair of singles.
Dunne allowed four runs on six hits and four walks before turning it over to the bullpen, which allowed four earned runs on three hits and seven hits the rest of the way.
Senior Day
In between the two games, Eureka recognized nine seniors who have made an impact on the program. The strong group included: Flaagan, O'Grady, Ulrich, Rulevish, pitcher Ty Kapp (Downs, Ill./Tri-Valley), pitcher Dominic Tenayuca (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Jacobs/Lincoln), pitcher Luke Smiley (Charleston, Ill./Charleston/Lincoln Christian), utility player Christopher Wollum (Cary, N.C./Cary/Barton) and student assistant coach Ryan Bredeson (Washington, Ill./Washington), who was a key pitcher for the Red Devils from 2021-23.
Up Next
The loss in the suspended Game 2 moved Eureka to 7-7 in SLIAC play. The Senior Day victory moved the maroon and gold to 16-15 on the season overall.
The Red Devils (16-15) will next face Elmhurst (7-24, 3-12 CCIW) on the road in non-conference on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
