Bob Hunt Photographer

Eureka College sophomore shortstop Grant DeWitt belted his first career home run in the fourth inning, highlighting Eureka’s best offensive output in nearly a year and lifting the Red Devils to a 17-14 non-conference victory over Illinois College, Wednesday afternoon at Henry Sand Field. The Red Devils (2-6) put together a huge first inning, sending 12 batters to the plate to build an 8-0 lead.  Sophomore second baseman Jordan Hodel put the hosts on the board after two walks and a base hit loaded the bases, coaxing a four-pitch walk to score DeWitt for a 1-0 advantage.  The next five Red Devils reached base safely, four of which came on a single, to push the advantage to 8-0 and drive IC starter Ian Richardson from the ball game.  The Blueboys committed two errors in the inning, but only one of Eureka’s eight runs in the frame were unearned. Illinois College (9-4) looked to be in danger of falling to the 10-run rule before engineering a six-run seventh inning to climb back into the contest. Dave Dalfonso and Terry Davis drove in runs early in the frame before Nick Visconti drilled a grand slam over the right field fence to pull the Blueboys back within three runs. Click here for the box score.

-Bob

Eureka College junior guard Jordan Kindred knocked down two of the Red Devils nine 3-pointers and dished out six assists to reach 10th place on the all-time EC list, but Division I Western Illinois overpowered the Red Devils down the stretch for a 73-52 non-conference victory, Tuesday night at Western Hall in Macomb, IL. The Red Devils (5-5) knocked down three of their first five 3-point attempts, including a triple from junior forward Dustin Fritsch with 16:04 remaining, to claim an early 11-7 lead.  The Leathernecks (6-4) promptly answered with six straight points to take their second lead of the game, but Kindred pushed the Red Devils back in front with a 3-pointer for a 21-18 cushion at the 10:14 mark.  Western Illinois responded by scoring 12 of the final 14 points over the final 10 minutes of the half to carry a 30-23 advantage into halftime. Obi Emegano scored 25 points for the Leathernecks to lead all scorers.  Junior forward Don McAvoy scored 14 points off the bench and Jack Houpt added 10 points in the victory.  Western Illinois held a 22-5 advantage in bench points and scored 25 of its 73 points off EC turnovers.

-Bob

Eureka College honored HOF and former men’s head basketball coach Dave Darnall (1974-1994) at half-time of the Eureka-Principia men’s basketball game at the Reagan Center. More than 75 former Red Devils joined Darnall and his family on the floor for the ceremony. Darnall’s teams went 383-151 from 1974-94, making the NAIA playoffs 13 times. The national championship came two months after he announced he would retire at season’s end. The newly painted center court at Reagan Center as “Championship Circle,” with special mention of “Coach Dave Darnall” and his 1994 NAIA Division II national champions.

-Bob

Eureka College junior center D.T. Thornton paced the Red Devils with a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of action off the bench for a  85-57 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Principia, Saturday afternoon at the Reagan Center. The Red Devils (3-3, 2-0 SLIAC) led from wire-to-wire on Saturday, scoring on their second possession of the game and never trailing in picking up their second consecutive SLIAC victory.  Eureka’s lead hit double-digits for the first time on Thornton’s putback for a 20-9 advantage at the 9:47 mark of the first half.  The Red Devils led by as many as 16 points in the first 20 minutes after a 3-pointer from junior guard Jordan Kindred for a 26-10 advantage with 8:26 left before halftime. Kindred’s three pointer put the exclamation point on 13-1 EC run that covered nearly three minutes midway through the half. As a team, Eureka recorded a season-high 23 assists and a season-low eight turnovers. In addition to taking care of the ball on the offensive end, Eureka shot 62 percent (21-for-34) from the field in the second half and limited the Panthers to 30 percent (14-for-46) shooting for the game.

-Bob

The Eureka College women’s basketball team saw its season-opening four-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon, as visiting Principia rallied to overcome a late deficit and eventually pulled away for a 68-58 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win against the Red Devils at the Reagan Center. The Red Devils (4-1, 1-1 SLIAC) came out of the gate strong, putting together a 20-11 advantage less than six minutes into the contest behind three 3-point baskets from senior guard Sara Hamilton.  The Red Devils kept the lead until the closing moments of the first half, as Principia’s (3-4, 2-0 SLIAC) Shannon Briggs knocked down a 3-point basket for a 32-30 advantage with 1:03 remaining before intermission.  The basket was a part of a 10-0 run by the visitors to close the first half with a 35-30 lead. Caty Eeten scored a game-high 23 points for the Red Devils, while Jenna Brooks and Hamilton chipped in with 11 points apiece.  Senior forward Khassandre Brown added 11 boards, Eureka compiled 13 steals as a team and forced 26 Panthers turnovers.

-Bob