Rose-Hulman Earns Sweep Against Eureka
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Eureka's Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) put herself in the top three in program history in home runs on Saturday, but the Red Devils dropped a pair at Rose-Hulman.
The Fightin' Engineers took Game 1 13-1 in five innings, then picked up a 9-1 in Game 2.
Game 1: Rose-Hulman 13, Eureka 1 (5 inn.)
Rose-Hulman pitcher Ariel Thomasson held the Red Devils to one run on four hits and one walk in five innings in the circle, with five strikeouts.
The Fightin' Engineers, meanwhile, scored three in the first and four in the second to jump out to a 7-0 lead through two innings.
Payne's homer in the third put the Red Devils on the board. It was her second bomb of the season and the 13th of her career, tying her with Cathy Kalnicky (2007-10) for third all-time in program history.
Eureka's Kate LeMasters (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) followed it with a double, but she was ultimately left stranded.
Rose-Hulman went down in order in the bottom of the third, but came back and scored six more runs on five hits and three Eureka errors to make it 13-1. Tressa Grisham (Morton, Ill./East Peoria) led off with a single; however, a double play and a foul-out ended the threat.
Bri Tanksley (Spring Bay, Ill./Metamora) also contributed a hit for the Red Devils in the second inning.
Game 2: Rose-Hulman 9, Eureka 1
Pitching came up big for the Fightin' Engineers again in Game 2.
This time around, Phoebe Worstell improved to 4-0 on the season after allowing just one run on five hits and two walks in six innings. She also tallied four strikeouts.
Eureka's defense was much improved. The Red Devils didn't commit any errors, but the team struggled to limit Rose-Hulman's opportunities at the plate.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Fightin' Engineers posted two runs in the second, three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth.
The Red Devils' scored their lone run of the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Bria Wessel (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) that scored Payne. Payne led off by getting hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sac bunt by LeMasters and advanced to third on a single by Mackenzie Daniels (Monticello, Ill./Monticello) before Wessel came to the plate.
Payne, Wessel and Christine Mepham (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) all contributed singles in the game, as well. Payne also had a stolen base.
Up Next
At long last, the Red Devils (1-8) are set to host Mount Mary (4-11) on Sunday in a home-opening non-conference doubleheader at Sweitzer Field. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.