Eureka’s Sam Buduris Named SLIAC Hitter of the Week

EUREKA, Ill. – For the third time this spring, Eureka's Sam Buduris (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community/McKendree) is the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week.

Buduris, a junior outfielder and cleanup hitter for the Red Devils, batted .563 as Eureka took two of three games away from SLIAC foe Westminster at Henry Sand Field this weekend. He went an eyebrow-raising 9-for-16 at the plate, mashed his second walk-off home run of the season in the 10th inning to clinch a 17-15 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 and finished the series with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI and a walk.

He contributed multiple hits in each game of the series, including going 4-for-6 with a double and a walk-off home run in the 17-15 win on Saturday. He also swiped seven bases on the weekend without getting thrown out once.

Buduris is currently leading the SLIAC with a .429 batting average, a .798 slugging percentage and 48 runs scored. He has risen to 47th in batting average in all of NCAA Division III, is 25th in slugging percentage and is tied for eighth in runs.

Eureka is currently 16-15, sitting one game over .500 with nine games left in the regular season and looking to become the first squad in the program's modern era to have a winning record.

The Red Devils are also 7-7 in SLIAC play.—good for fifth in the conference and fourth in SLIAC Tournament if the postseason began today. They will next face Elmhurst (7-24, 3-12 CCIW) in non-conference play on Tuesday at 4 p.m.