Eureka Finishes Sweep of Blackburn on Senior Day

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka baseball team finished off a weekend sweep of Blackburn with a 4-1 Senior Day victory, fueled by early home runs and a dominant effort on the mound.

Prior to first pitch, the program honored its six seniors — Nate Cooley (Chillicothe, Ill./Illinois Valley Central), 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 (Galena, Kan./Galena) — for their contributions to the program.

After a scoreless first inning, Eureka struck quickly in the second. Camden Smith (Florence, Ala./Florence) led off with a solo home run, his second of the weekend, before Joshua Stanley (Huntsville, Texas/Huntsville) followed with a solo shot of his own to make it 2-0.

The Red Devils added to their lead in the third when Andrew Zimmerman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) led off with a single, stole second, and later scored on an error to push the advantage to 3-0.

Eureka manufactured another run in the fourth. McKenna drew a leadoff walk and moved to third after a single from Michael Guzman (Houston, Texas/Navasota), setting up Joe Clark (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) for a sacrifice bunt that extended the lead to 4-0.

Blackburn's lone run came on a solo home run in the fifth, but Eureka's pitching staff limited further damage.

Martin earned his first win of the season, allowing one run on five hits over seven innings. Trevor Kinder (West Plains, Mo./West Plains) recorded the save, retiring the final five batters without allowing a hit.

Stanley and Smith each had two hits, including their solo home runs, while Cooley went 2 for 4. Guzman and Zimmerman added a hit apiece.

UP NEXT

Eureka returns to action Wednesday with a 3 p.m. game at Knox.