McDonald, Wesley Power Eureka Past Blackburn in Sweep

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team swept Blackburn in a home doubleheader on Friday, opening with a 9-0 shutout before erupting for a 13-3 run-rule victory in the nightcap.

GAME 1: Eureka 9, Blackburn 0

Eureka rode a dominant outing from Ethan McDonald (Cleveland, Okla./Mannford) to take the opener, as the right-hander delivered a complete game shutout.

McDonald set the tone early, retiring the first 12 batters he faced with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings. Blackburn managed its first hit in the fifth, but the Red Devils broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half.

Joshua Stanley (Huntsville, Texas/Huntsville) led off the inning with an infield single, advanced on a wild pitch, and later scored on a passed ball to give Eureka a 1-0 lead.

The Red Devils broke the game open in the seventh. Camden Smith (Florence, Ala./Florence) started the rally with a leadoff single before Stanley launched a two-run home run, the first of his career, to make it 3-0. Nate Cooley (Chillicothe, Ill./Illinois Valley Central) was hit by a pitch and Gabe Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) followed with a single before Joe Clark (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) reached on a bunt single, with an error allowing another run to score. Peters later crossed on a fielder's choice, and Dewrell Wesley (Mountain View, Calif./Los Altos) added a sacrifice fly to cap a six-run inning and extend the lead to 7-0.

Eureka added two more in the eighth as Smith singled again and Cooley and Peters loaded the bases. Andrew Zimmerman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) delivered a two-run double to push the advantage to 9-0.

McDonald closed it out in the ninth, allowing just three hits in the complete game effort.

Peters paced the offense, going 3 for 4 with a run scored. Zimmerman finished 2 for 5 with a double and two RBIs, while Smith and Stanley each collected two hits. Stanley added two RBIs and two runs scored.

GAME 2: Eureka 13, Blackburn 3 (8 innings)

Blackburn struck first in the nightcap, opening the game with a leadoff home run before adding two more runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead.

Eureka answered in the bottom of the second. Stanley singled and Griffin Klein (Bowie, Md./Bowie) walked before Peters delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Red Devils evened the score in the third with back-to-back home runs. Wesley led off the inning with a solo shot, and Grant Hackney (Morton, Ill./Morton) followed with another to tie the game at 3-3.

After three scoreless innings, Eureka took control in the seventh with a decisive rally. Wesley opened the frame with his second home run of the game to give Eureka its first lead at 4-3. Hackney singled, and Smith followed with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 6-3.

Stanley singled and Klein walked before Peters reached on an error that allowed another run to score. Clark then broke the game open with a three-run home run, pushing the lead to 10-3. Noah Company (Le Roy, Ill./Le Roy) drew a walk and later scored on a Wesley single to make it 11-3.

Eureka ended the game in the eighth. Smith was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and walks by Stanley and Klein loaded the bases before Peters singled home two runs to secure the 13-3 run-rule victory.

Wesley led the offensive surge, going 3 for 5 with two home runs, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Hackney added two hits, including a home run, while Stanley reached base three times and scored three runs. Peters drove in three runs, and Clark finished 2 for 3 with a home run, a walk, and three RBIs. Klein reached base four times, all via walks.

Brayden Williams (Kansas, Okla./Salina) earned the win, tossing 7.0 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. Kenyon Martin (Galena, Kan./Galena) pitched a perfect inning in relief.

UP NEXT

Eureka will conclude its series against Blackburn on Saturday at 1 p.m. Prior to the game, the program will honor its six seniors: Nate Cooley, Hayden McKenna (Sheridan, Ill./Marquette Academy), Dylan Smith (Farina, Ill./South Central), Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin), Ethan Patterson (Glasford, Ill./Illini Bluffs) and Kenyon Martin.