Red Devils Battle Elements, Split with Edgewood
EUREKA — The Eureka baseball team braved the elements on Wednesday and ended up with a non-conference split to show for it.
The Red Devils lost the lead late against Edgewood in a 4-2 Game 1 and pieced together a 6-3 win in Game 2 on a gusty day at Henry Sand Field.
The maroon and gold is now 8-13 on the season and 3-6 in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, with a pivotal league series at Principia coming on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Edgewood 4, Eureka 2
With the heavy winds blowing in all game, neither the Red Devils nor the Eagles could get much going in the opener.
With two on in the fourth inning, Eureka scratched across a run on a ball put in play by Jake Carter (Carlinville, Ill./Carlinville) that the shortstop booted. And two innings later, an RBI sac fly by Dean Moir (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) made it 2-0.
The Red Devils found themselves three outs away from snagging the win behind a strong start on the mound from Kyle Cashdollar (Morton, Ill./Morton). For six innings, Cashdollar was money, but things got rocky in the sixth and the Eagles plated unearned four runs on two hits and a costly error to take a two-run lead while rain showers drifted through campus.
EC went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh, ending its hopes of a Game 1 victory.
Cashdollar took the loss after only conceding four hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings, and striking out six.
Edgewood's Jake Sawinkski got the win with a complete-game performance that featured just two runs on four hits and one walk, along with four strikeouts.
Drew Stout (Manito, Ill./Midwest Central), Mike Redmond (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita), Drew Thoele (Teutopolis, Ill./Teutopolis) and Moir each had a hit for the Red Devils.
Game 2: Eureka 6, Edgewood 3
After the rain stopped falling, EC got back to work in Game 2 with a different look.
Several new players joined the lineup and Isaiah Davis (Morton, Ill./Morton) made his first start of the season on the mound. The freshman went on to pick up the first win of his career, limiting Edgewood to three runs on six hits. He compensated for walking eight batters by striking out four, and was able to wiggle out of jam after jam.
Reliever Bobby Porter (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) gave him some help. After coming on with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth, the junior right-hander struck out the potential go-ahead run. He then fanned three more batters, finishing with four Ks in 2 1/3 scoreless innings and his first save of the season.
At the plate, the Red Devils scored four runs on three hits and an error in the second, added another on a Braxten Ary (Green Valley, Ill./Midwest Central) RBI single in the fourth and one more on a wild pitch that allowed Redmond to score in the sixth.
Edgewood knocked eight hits to Eureka's five, but the Red Devils still prevailed.
Ary went 2-for-3 with one RBI and a walk. While Redmond had a hit, an RBI, two walks and scored three times, Thoele added a hit and an RBI.