Eureka Falls to Lyon in Midweek Doubleheader

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka softball team faced off against Lyon in a SLIAC doubleheader at Sweitzer Field on Wednesday afternoon, but came up short in both games, falling 6-1 in Game 1 and 12-2 in Game 2.

GAME 1 – Eureka 1, Lyon 6

A four-run fifth inning proved to be the difference in Game 1, as Lyon pulled away to earn a 6-1 win over the Red Devils.

Eureka struck first in the opening frame. Lexi Liptak (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) singled, moved up on a hit by Mackenzie Daniels (Monticello, Ill./Monticello), and came around to score on a fielding error in center. The 1-0 lead held until the second inning, when Lyon's Morquecho was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a bunt to tie it at 1-1.

Lyon took the lead in the third with an RBI single by Orf, then broke the game open in the fifth. After a leadoff single and an RBI by Duffield, Orf launched a two-run homer to left. A groundout brought in one more to make it 6-1, and Lyon's pitching did the rest, keeping Eureka off the board the rest of the way.

GAME NOTES

• Lexi Liptak went 1-for-2 with a run scored.
• Mackenzie Daniels tallied a hit and a walk.
• Olivia Lewis (Green Valley, Ill./Midwest Central) added a hit, a walk, and a stolen base.
• Alyssa Bundren (Spring Bay, Ill./Metamora) pitched 4 1/3 innings, striking out two and allowing five earned runs on five hits.
• Isabel Ramirez (Tonopah, Ariz./Buckeye Union) threw 2 2/3 innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit and striking out one.

GAME 2 – Eureka 2, Lyon 12 (5 Innings)

Lyon wasted no time jumping ahead in Game 2, plating six runs in the first inning and cruising to a 12-2 win in five innings.

The Scots tacked on another run in the second to go up 7-0, but Eureka answered in the third. Chloe Smith (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) doubled down the left field line and was driven in by Alayla Thornton (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria), who followed with a double of her own to make it 7-1.

Lyon kept the pressure on, adding two in the fourth and three more in the fifth. Thornton delivered again in the bottom of the inning, belting a solo home run to center to notch her second RBI of the game, but the rally stopped there as Lyon held on for a 12-2 win.

GAME NOTES

• Alayla Thornton went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs.
• Chloe Smith went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
• Bria Wessel (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) recorded a hit and a stolen base.
• Alyssa Bundren threw 4 1/3 innings, striking out two while allowing six earned runs.

UP NEXT

Eureka hosts Spalding in a SLIAC doubleheader on Friday, April 11 at 2 p.m.