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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
April 9, 2009
Eureka 'Pen bullied by Knox, Friday game rained out
Eureka College lost 7-5 in a back-and-forth non-conference baseball game at Knox College Thursday. It was the last road game for the Red Devils before they were to begin a stretch of 10 of their next 11 games at home, but Eureka's home game with Fontbonne scheduled for Friday was rained out. The start of the doubleheader between the same two teams slated for Saturday, April 11 has been pushed back to 2:00 pm in hopes EC can get its first home games in 17 days in the books.
Eureka (5-10-1) got its lead off man on base in each of the first six stanzas as the Red Devils built a 5-3 lead. Tim Cashdollar (Morton, Ill./HS) drew first blood with an RBI single that brought in Mike Wagner (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita), who reached on an error to start the inning. Knox (1-12), which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, put three hits together in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.
Cashdollar and Wagner again teamed up to get Eureka on the board in the fourth when a bases loaded walk to the Red Devils' sophomore first baseman forced in Wagner with no outs. That tied the game at 2-2, and EC had a great chance to take the lead with the bases still filled, but a strikeout and double play ended the threat.
The Red Devils took advantage of scoring opportunities in the next two frames, though. Nick Eeten (Eureka, Ill./HS) singled and stole second to start the fifth, leading up to an RBI base hit by Nick Knoblauch (Metamora, Ill./HS) that moved Eureka ahead 3-2.
After Knox tied the game at 3-3, Tyler Glaub (Metamora, Ill./HS) and Cashdollar recorded back-to-back hits to begin the sixth, and later scored on Knox errors.
The Prairie Fire's two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth ultimately turned out to be the difference in the game. After the first two Knox batters had been retired, three walks and a hit batter cut the Eureka lead to 5-4. Next, Adam Estergard's double cleared the bases giving the hosts all the runs they would need. It was the only extra base hit on the night for either lineup.
Three Knox relief pitchers held Eureka without a hit over the final three innings to keep the score at 7-5. The Red Devils collected seven hits, five walks and three stolen bases, but stranded 11 runners on base thanks to a .160 batting average (4-for-25) with runners on base.
Cashdollar finished 2-for-3 with a walk, run and two runs batted in. Knoblauch tallied his team-leading fifth multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Wagner was 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
Pat Soraghan (Plainfield, Ill./HS) started on the mound for Eureka, tossing four innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and two walks before leaving with a 3-2 lead. Five EC relievers combined for five runs allowed in four innings. They surrendered only two hits, but walked five and hit two.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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