Red Devils Bounce Back For League Split With Iowa Wesleyan

EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Eureka College freshman pitcher Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap H.S.) threw her third complete-game shutout of the season and freshman designated player Morgan Osborn (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI, driving the Red Devils to a 4-0 win in the nightcap of Friday's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with Iowa Wesleyan in East Peoria, Ill. The Tigers came from behind to win game one, 2-1.

The Red Devils broke a 0-0 deadlock in the third inning of game two when Osborn's single to right-center plated junior center fielder Krysten Wallace (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone H.S.), who tripled to begin the inning. Sophomore shortstop Kerrigan Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) tacked on another RBI single later in the frame to score Osborn and the EC lead was 2-0.

EC doubled its lead in the fourth with a pair of unearned runs. Back-to-back IWU errors allowed Bridget Bankes (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.) to score on a passed ball and Osborn to collect her third RBI of the game when her single up the middle scored Wallace for a 4-0 cushion.

Smith did the rest for the Red Devils, blanking the Tigers over 7.0 innings. She yielded only three IWU hits, struck out five and walked one.

In the opener, EC jumped in front 1-0 in the fourth inning when Dura walked and later scored on an RBI bloop single from sophomore first baseman Madaline Kane (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.).

The Red Devils' lead would be short-lived. IWU moved in front for good in the fifth on McKenzie Copher's two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth. Eureka put the tying run on base in each of the final two innings, including a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but couldn't find the equalizer before falling 2-1.

Senior catcher Lexi Litwiller (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S./Lincoln) logged two of the Red Devils' four hits in game one. Junior pitcher Kali George (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.) scattered seven hits over 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high 10.

Friday's doubleheader was moved to East Peoria's EastSide Centre due to unplayable field conditions in Eureka.

Eureka will continue a busy weekend of SLIAC competition Saturday in a noon doubleheader at Westminster in Fulton, Mo.