Red Devils Drop Two at Spalding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Eureka softball team dropped a pair of tough ones at Spalding on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles got the edge in a 6-4 opener, then ended the second half of the twinbill with an 8-3 win in six innings.

With the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series loss, the Red Devils have now won or split three out of four league series on the season. 

Game 1: Spalding 6, Eureka 4

The Red Devils struck first in Game 1, plating two runs in the top of the first inning.

The SLIAC's top hitter, Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington), led the game off with a triple, and freshman Kate LeMasters (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) singled to send her home.

Then, after singling, advancing to second on a fielder's choice and moving to third on a passed ball, Bri Tanksley (Spring Bay, Ill./Metamora) scored an unearned run on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

However, Spalding came back and scored two runs off two hits, a walk, a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to tie the game.

The following inning, the Golden Eagles tacked on two more with a two-run homer by Rylee Phillips that made it 4-2. It stayed that way until the top of the fifth, when Bria Wessel (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) drove in a run with a double to left that scored Payne to make it a one-run game.

Once again, though, Spalding came back with a pair of runs on five hits in the bottom half, plating two with two-run double by Madison Loechle. Trailing by three, Eureka made it a two-run game with a sac fly RBI in the sixth, but the Red Devils ended up leaving two on and going down in order in the seventh.

Spalding pitcher Erica McMann held Eureka to three earned runs on six hits and seven walks while striking out five.

Tanksley went 2-for-4 for the Red Devils. Payne contributed a triple, a sac fly RBI, walked and scored twice and had two stolen bases. Wessel doubled, LeMasters had the first RBI single and Elly Maier (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) also produced a single and a stolen base.

Eureka's Sidney Wightman (Waterloo, Ill./Gibault Catholic) conceded six runs on 11 hits and two walks in six innings, and had two Ks.

Game 2: Spalding 11, Eureka 3

Eureka struggled to get much going in the second game of the day, recording three runs on just four hits.

In the third inning, Wessel singled up the middle to score Payne, who singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third. Two innings later, Wessel drove in two more with a single to right-center with two on.

Spalding, on the other hand, notched two runs in the inning, one in the second, one in third, three in the fifth and four in the sixth. The Golden Eagles tallied 11 runs off nine hits.

Payne contributed a hit, scored twice and had two stolen bases, finishing with four swipes on the day. LeMasters had a hit and a stolen base, while Wessel went 2-for-3 with all three RBI.

Up Next

On Monday, the Red Devils (8-13, 4-4 SLIAC) will turn around and take on old SLIAC foe Iowa Wesleyan (3-20, 0-6 CAC) on the road in a non-conference doubleheader at 4 p.m.