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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
April 17, 2008
Striking it rich: Cashdollar's CG, 4 H, 4 R help EC to DH split
EUREKA — Eureka College stayed in the hunt for a conference tournament playoff spot by splitting a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at home versus Fontbonne University Wednesday.
Benji Cashdollar (Morton, Ill./HS) improved his record to 4-3 with a complete game on the mound and a
It was a challenging day for the pitchers as there was a 30 m.p.h. wind blowing out to left field at Henry Sand Field, but Cashdollar was up to the task. He surrendered just two runs over the final four innings of game one and chipped in the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the sixth.
The visiting Griffins scored one run in the first, two in the second and another single tally in the third. But each time, the Red Devils answered in the home half of the frame to tie the score.
For Eureka in the first inning, Cashdollar doubled with one out and scored on an RBI single by Mike Wagner (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita). Koerner led off the EC second inning with a triple off the top of the fence before jogging home on a base hit by Tyler Glaub (Metamora, Ill./HS). Glaub advanced to third on the play thanks to the first of five Fontbonne errors. He would later tie the game at 3-3 on a run scoring grounder hit by Wade Furrow (El Paso, Ill./HS).
The Red Devils took their first lead of the day in the fifth as Nick Knoblauch (Metamora, Ill./HS) drilled a two-run homer over the left center field wall, putting Eureka in front 6-4.
The Griffins came back to tie the game at six with two runs on the top of the sixth, but they became unglued defensively in the bottom of the stanza, committing three errors during a three-run Eureka rally. Keith Moore (Hamilton, Ill./HS) had a key stolen base to get into scoring position with one out for Cashdollar, who threaded a grounder into right field to give EC a 7-6 lead. A trio of misplayed ground balls allowed the Red Devils to extend their lead to 9-6 before the side was retired.
That would be plenty for Cashdollar, who thwarted any comeback attempts the Griffins envisioned in the final inning. He allowed six runs in seven frames, striking out four and walking one.
Josh Kraemer went 4-for-4 for the Griffins, who out-hit Eureka 13-10, but stranded 10 runners on base.
Fontbonne's bats heated up for 10 hits in the first two innings of the nightcap, resulting in an insurmountable 9-2 advantage. The Griffins had just one hit with two outs in the game, but put their lead off man on base in five of the seven innings.
For the second time on the day, Wagner knocked in Cashdollar in the first inning with a base hit. Alex Rosenbeck (Bridgeview, Ill./Argo) later drove in Wagner with a two-out RBI single that sliced Fontbonne's lead to 5-2.
Despite falling behind by as many as even runs, the Red Devils fought back to make a game of it in the late innings. Knoblauch extended his hitting streak to six games to ignite at three-run fifth inning for EC. He slammed a double off the fence in right center giving Cashdollar and Nick Cox (Morton, Ill./Dee-Mack) time to race home, cutting the Fontbonne advantage to 10-5. Koerner then lined a double to center to get EC within 10-6.
The Red Devils eventually got the tying run to the plate in the sixth after two hits and an error loaded the bases with one out, but a double play short-circuited the Red Devils' chances at a monumental comeback and their second five-game winning streak of the year.
Cashdollar was 1-for-2 in game two, giving him four hits in six at bats on the day with four runs scored. Moore and Koerner each recorded two hits, while Glaub extended his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single in the second inning. Koerner tossed the final 5.2 innings for EC, giving up just one earned run on four hits and seven strikeouts.
The Red Devils have a three-game series upcoming versus Principia College. The two squads will play a nine-inning contest at Principia Friday, April 18 at 5:00 pm, then square off at 1:00 pm at Eureka on Saturday, April 19 in a doubleheader.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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