Red Devils Fall Short at Greenville, 3-0, 6-4
GREENVILLE, Ill. – Greenville got the best of Eureka in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday.
The Panthers kept the Red Devils off the board in a 3-0 victory in Game 1 and edged EC 6-4 in walk-off fashion in Game 2.
Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) notched two stolen bases, surpassing Sarah Taylor (1995-98) to move into second all-time in program history with 51 swipes in her career.
Game 1: Greenville 3, Eureka 0
Greenville's Melissa Bernal held Eureka to zero runs on five hits and five walks.
The Red Devils loaded the bases in the first two innings but were unable to move any runners all the way around. They hit into a double play in the first and stranded three runners with a groundout in the second.
The team then left a runner on first in each of the next four innings before Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) doubled with one out. Bernal proceeded to get back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
The Panthers scored one run in the first, second and fifth inning.
Payne went 2-for-3 and had a double, a walk and a stolen base, while MacKenzie Daniels (Monticello, Ill./Monticello), Delaney Douglas (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) and Christine Mepham (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) all singled.
Sidney Wightman (Waterloo, Ill./Gibault Catholic) took the loss despite only allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks.
Game 2: Greenville 6, Eureka 4
Eureka came one run short of coming from behind and taking the lead from the Panthers in the seventh.
Trailing 4-2, Payne led off with a single and moved to second on a passed ball.
That set up Kate LeMasters (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) to send her home with an RBI single to right-center and make it a one run game.
Two batters later, Bri Tanksley (Spring Bay, Ill./Metamora) advanced her to second with a fielder's choice. Then, Tressa Grisham (Morton, Ill./East Peoria) stepped up to the plate and whacked an RBI double to center field, past a diving center fielder and towards the fence. LeMasters scored the game-tying run before Greenville got out of it with a strikeout.
In the bottom half, however, the home team answered in kind. The Panthers opened the inning with a hit batsman, and two batters later, they saw Taylor Weiss smash a walk-off two-run jack to left field.
The Red Devils fell short despite outhitting Greenville 10-8.
In addition to driving in EC's last run, Grisham drove in the team's first with an RBI single in the first inning. Daniels followed that with an RBI single to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead.
Payne finished 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice.
Grisham went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. LeMasters also contributed a pair of hits, along with two runs and an RBI, and Mepham had a double.
In the circle, Mepham conceded three earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Up Next
Eureka (14-21, 9-9 SLIAC) will close its 2022 regular season on Saturday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader against Spalding (18-14, 11-5 SLIAC) at Sweitzer Field.