Eureka Drops Season-Opening Doubleheader at Rockford

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team dropped both games of its season-opening doubleheader at Rockford on Friday, falling 7-2 in game one and 11-1 in game two.

GAME 1: Eureka 2, Rockford 7

In the opener, Eureka threatened early when Noah Company (Le Roy, Ill./Le Roy) led off the game with a base hit, but a double play erased the scoring opportunity. Brayden Williams (Kansas, Okla./Salina) kept the game scoreless through the first inning with a clean frame on the mound.

The Red Devils broke through in the top of the second. Josh Frenden (New Port Richey, Fla./River Ridge) worked a walk before Andrew Zimmerman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) singled to score Frenden and give Eureka a 1-0 lead. Rockford answered in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.

After a scoreless third, Hayden McKenna (Sheridan, Ill./Marquette Academy) sparked the offense again with a leadoff double in the fourth. Nate Cooley (Chillicothe, Ill./Illinois Valley Central) followed with a single to plate McKenna, putting Eureka back in front 2-1. Williams followed with another scoreless inning, and the Red Devils carried the one-run lead into the fifth.

Rockford seized control in the bottom of the fifth, opening the inning with a two-run home run to take a 3-2 lead. The Regents continued to string together offense, adding three more runs in the frame to extend the advantage to 6-2. A solo home run in the sixth pushed the lead to 7-2, and Rockford held Eureka scoreless the rest of the way to take the opener.

Williams tossed 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks. Conor Fitzpatrick (North Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and McKenna each doubled, while Cooley and Zimmerman recorded RBIs for Eureka.

GAME 2: Eureka 1, Rockford 11

In game two, Nolan Hudson (Spencer, Ind./Edgewood) made the start on the mound for Eureka. Rockford took a 1-0 lead in the first on a wild pitch and added a two-out RBI triple in the third to go ahead 2-0. The Regents extended the lead with two runs in the fifth and a home run in the seventh to make it 5-0.

Eureka broke through in the top of the eighth. Company led off with a single, and Dewrell Wesley (Mountain View, Calif./Los Altos) delivered a pinch-hit double to score Company and put the Red Devils on the board. Wesley was left stranded, however, as Eureka trailed 5-1.

Rockford's offense surged in the bottom of the eighth, scoring six runs on six hits to secure the 11-1 victory by run rule.

Hudson worked three innings, allowing one earned run. Zimmerman finished 2 for 3 at the plate, and Wesley's RBI double accounted for Eureka's lone run of the second game.

UP NEXT

Eureka returns to action Saturday for its home opener against Carroll. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 11 a.m., with game two to follow.