Eureka Sweeps on Last Day in Myrtle Beach
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Before its season went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Eureka softball team picked up a pair of wins and improved to 8-2 at Myrtle Beach on Thursday.
The Red Devils took down Dean 16-9 in the morning and dispatched Medaille 13-7 in the afternoon.
Later that day, however, amidst a worldwide chain of cancellations, Eureka College announced that all on- and off-campus activities and events, including athletics, are suspended through April 13.
Game 1: Eureka 16, Dean 9
In Game 1, the Red Devils mashed a season-high 19 hits.
Adrianna Zeman (Peru, Ill./La Salle-Peru) and Allison Cagley (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) both went 4-for-5, with Zeman contributing a double and four RBIs and Cagley driving in three runs and stealing a base.
Sydney Shubert (Canton, Ill./Canton) went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Sidney Wightman (Waterloo, Ill./Gibault Catholic) and Faith Bachtold (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) each had two hits.
Eureka weathered a five-run first inning by racking up 10 runs in the first three innings. Then, after Dean came back with three runs in the fourth, Eureka produced six more in the last three innings.
Wightman got the win after coming in with two outs in the first inning and allowing four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Game 2: Eureka 13, Medaille 7
The bats stayed hot as Eureka notched 13 hits and scored 13 runs.
Torre Koontz (Lakewood, Ill./Shelbyville) went 3-for-3 with a double and got the win in the circle. She limited Medaille to seven runs on six hits and one walk, and had three strikeouts, in 4 2/3 innings.
Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) took over for the second time that day, and held the opposition to one run in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Zeman, Morgan Ledbetter (Hanna City, Ill./Elmwood) and Raelyn Payne (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) all had two hits apiece.
The Red Devils racked up five runs in the second, notched four in the fourth and tacked on four more in the sixth.
Eureka scored 83 runs on 111 hits while batting .384 in 10 games in Myrtle Beach. The pitching staff recorded a 2.26 ERA and the defense posted a .972 fielding percentage.