Red Devils Drop Road Series at Webster

SAUGET, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team came up short in its weekend series at Webster, suffering 13-3 and 14-7 losses Saturday before a 7-0 setback Sunday.

GAME 1: Webster 13, Eureka 3 (7 innings)

In game one, Webster struck early, plating all 13 of its runs across the first two innings to put Eureka in an early hole. Colin DeLaere (Pekin,Ill./Pekin) settled in out of the bullpen for the Red Devils, tossing four consecutive scoreless innings to finish his outing. Eureka broke through in the sixth when Montrez West (Edwardsville,Ill./Edwardsville) worked a walk and later scored on a Noah Company (Le Roy,Ill./Le Roy) single. The Red Devils added two more runs in the seventh on a leadoff solo home run by Grant Hackney (Morton,Ill./Morton) and an error that allowed Camden Smith (Florence,Ala./Florence) to score, but the rally fell short in a 13-3 run-rule defeat.

Company finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Hackney added a solo home run. Connor Metz (Tinley Park,Ill./Victor J. Andrew) took the loss after allowing eight runs in 0.2 innings. DeLaere went 5.1 innings in relief, allowing five runs while closing the game with four straight scoreless frames.

GAME 2: Webster 14, Eureka 7

In game two, Webster again struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Eureka responded in the second. Dewrell Wesley (Mountain View,Calif./Los Altos) tripled to spark the offense before Camden Smith launched his first home run as a Red Devil to give Eureka a 2-1 lead. Webster answered quickly, reclaiming a 3-2 advantage in the bottom half of the inning.

Eureka tied the game in the third when Andrew Zimmerman (Eureka,Ill./Eureka) reached and later scored on an error. Webster pulled ahead with three runs in the fourth, but the Red Devils answered again in the fifth. West singled to lead off the inning before Company doubled to bring him home. After loading the bases, Josh Frenden (New Port Richey,Fla./River Ridge) reached on an error that brought in two runs to even the score at 6-6.

The tie was short-lived, as Webster erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain control. The Gorloks added two more runs in the seventh to extend the lead to 14-6. Eureka plated its final run in the eighth when Frenden singled and later scored on a Conor Fitzpatrick (North Barrington,Ill./Barrington) groundout, but Webster secured the 14-7 victory.

Smith led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs. Company and Fitzpatrick also drove in runs for Eureka. Brayden Williams (Kansas,Okla./Salina) started on the mound, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing nine runs (six earned). Emilio Villanueva (Houston,Texas./Milby) provided 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to close the game.

GAME 3: Webster 7, Eureka 0

In Sunday's finale, Ethan McDonald (Cleveland,Okla./Mannford) opened with three scoreless innings on the mound, keeping Webster off the board early. The Gorloks broke through in the fourth with four runs and added two more in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. A solo home run in the seventh pushed the margin to 7-0.

Eureka's best scoring opportunity came in the ninth when Zimmerman walked and Company was hit by a pitch before Wesley singled to load the bases. However, the Red Devils were unable to capitalize and were held scoreless in the series finale.

Wesley accounted for both of Eureka's hits, going 2-for-4 at the plate. McDonald took the loss after allowing six runs over 4.1 innings, while Kenyon Martin (Galena,Kan./Galena) added 3.2 innings of relief, surrendering one run on four hits.

UP NEXT

Eureka returns to action Monday, traveling to Wabash for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch.