Eureka Drops Two at Home Against Illinois College

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka softball team hosted Illinois College for a nonconference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Sweitzer Field, but the Red Devils were unable to keep pace, falling 10-0 and 10-1.

GAME 1 – Illinois College 10, Eureka 0

Illinois College jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, taking Game 1 with a commanding 10-0 win behind steady offense and dominant pitching.

The Lady Blues opened the scoring in the first inning, as Loveall doubled and came around on an RBI single from Hand. They added two more in the second on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt, while Eureka's bats struggled to get going early, striking out in order in both the first and second innings.

A four-run third inning broke the game open. A triple from Seiler and sacrifice fly by Hand helped extend the lead, with Cole, Currie, and Mauermann also coming around to score. Callie Warlow (Le Roy, Ill./Le Roy) provided the lone bright spot at the plate for the Red Devils, notching a single in the third, but the Red Devils couldn't capitalize.

Illinois College loaded the bases in the sixth but came away empty, while Warlow reached again in the bottom half but was left stranded. The Lady Blues tacked on three more runs in the seventh, fueled by Rezba's two-run triple and an RBI groundout from Serpa.

Eureka went down in order in the seventh to end the game.

GAME NOTES

• Callie Warlow went 1-for-3 and reached base twice.
• Alyssa Bundren (Spring Bay, Ill./Metamora) pitched a complete game, allowing seven earned runs on 14 hits while striking out two.

GAME 2 – Illinois College 10, Eureka 1 (5 Innings)

Illinois College's offense stayed hot in Game 2, using a four-run third inning to take control and secure a 10-1 victory in five innings.

After a scoreless first, the Lady Blues scratched across a run in the second, but Eureka responded quickly. Mackenzie Daniels (Monticello, Ill./Monticello) roped a double to right field, then scored on a single up the middle by Lexi Liptak (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) to tie the game at 1-1.

Illinois College took advantage of defensive miscues in the third, plating four runs to go up 5-1. They added two more in the fourth and three in the fifth to push the margin to 10-1. Eureka was unable to answer back in the bottom of the fifth, and the game concluded after five innings.

GAME NOTES

• Mackenzie Daniels went 1-for-1 with a double, a run scored, and a walk.
• Lexi Liptak went 1-for-2 with Eureka's lone RBI.
• Callie Warlow reached base twice with two walks.
• Isabel Ramirez (Tonopah, Ariz./Buckeye Union) pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

UP NEXT

Eureka hits the road tomorrow for a nonconference doubleheader at Wheaton. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.