Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Eureka, ILL. – The Principia College Panthers travelled to Eureka, Illinois to take on the "red hot" Red Devils, who entered the doubleheader with a season record of 19-2.
Principia took the field for game one at 3:00pm, and were met by the Red Devil bats, surrendering 10 runs in the opening two innings. Starting pitcher
Noelle Shoemake battled in the circle, but found it difficult to locate her off-speed pitches, resulting in 14 hits for the Eureka squad. Defensive miscues plagued the Panthers throughout the entire game, leading to many of Eureka's 18 runs. Principia was unable to get on the scoreboard until the 4
th inning, as they capitalized on two errors and generated some offense. Shoemake led off the frame by reaching on an error, and advanced to third base on a hard hit double by
Claire Thompson.
Ashley Noville then drove in the pair of runners with a double of her own. Principia ultimately fell to Eureka in 5 innings with a final score of 18-4, with three total hits, coming from
Leah Schaefer,
Claire Thompson and
Ashley Noville. The Panther's were determined to bounce back with more consistent defense, as well as steady offensive contributions into the second game.
Game two (5:00pm) started on a much higher note, with the Panthers scoring three runs of their own in the opening frame. Freshman Leah Schaefer led off the game with a single, and advanced on a groundout. Noelle Shoemake and Claire Thompson followed with back-to-back base hits, plating the three runs. Eureka answered with a run in the bottom of the first, but the Panther's held the lead into the second inning. More defensive miscues and the onslaught of the Red Devil bats were too much to handle. Eureka took control of the game and sealed the 14-5 victory over the Principia women. The Panthers finished the game with 6 hits, with two hits apiece coming from Noelle Shoemake and Claire Thompson. Leah Schaefer and Tori Cheatham each contributed a hit to the Panther offense.
It was a difficult day for the Panthers at Eureka, with regards to making routine plays and generating offense, however, we look forward to a better day for the ladies in their next doubleheader. Thank you all for your continual support!
