NORMAL, Ill. - The Webster University baseball team opened conference play with a double-header against Eureka College at Illinois State University on Saturday. The Gorloks opened the day with a seven-inning 12-1 victory and followed up with a 9-1 victory in the nightcap. With both victories, Webster extended their win streak to six games to an overall record of 12-5 and 2-0 in conference play.

Game 1: Webster 12, Eureka 1 (7 innings)

Webster and Eureka opened the first game with a scoreless first inning led by starting pitchers Ryan Greifelt and Ethan McDonald as Greifelt recorded two strikeouts. In the top of the second, WU's Cullen McBride led off the inning with a walk and later stole second. Following a hit-by-pitch and walk drawn by R.J. LaRocco and Cameron Hailstone that loaded the bases, McBride scored on a wild pitch for the 1-0 advantage. After a walk drawn by Dalton Groves that loaded the bases again, Ben Stedman drove in LaRocco with a sacrifice fly that gave the Gorloks the 2-0 lead. 

In the top of the third, James Theodore got the inning started with a lead off single to second and immediately stole second. After a walk drawn by Evan Evola, McBride smashed a two-run double to the gap in left center that scored Theodore and Evola for the 4-0 advantage. 

In the bottom of the third, the Red Devils loaded the bases with a single and two walks issued by Greifelt. With two outs, Eureka got on the scoreboard from a defensive error by the Gorloks that made the score 4-1. 

In the top of the fourth, Karl Peters got the inning started with a two-out solo home run over the left field wall pushed the score to 5-1. Theodore picked back up the inning with a walk and immediately stole second. With a runner in scoring position, Evola launched a flyball to right when the right fielder misplayed the ball that allowed Theodore to score that took the 6-1 lead. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Greifelt struck out the first batter he saw. Moments later, he worked out of a bases-loaded with a strikeout and a fielder's choice for his third scoreless inning of the game. 

In the top of the fifth, LaRocco led off the inning with a double to left and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Hartz. Following a walk drawn by Hailstone that put runners on the corners, the Gorloks executed the double-steal attempt that scored LaRocco that made the score 7-1. With two outs, Stedman reached base on a walk and stole second as a throwing error by EC's catcher allowed Hailstone to score and increased the lead to 8-1. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Greifelt recorded a 5-4-3 double play and followed up with a strikeout that ended his outing. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Webster called upon reliever Jack Wilson out of the bullpen. Wilson struck out the first batter he saw and got two groundouts for his first scoreless inning. 

In the top of the seventh inning, the Gorloks put up a four-run inning that started on a bases loaded wild pitch that scored pinch runner Quinton Johnson for the 9-1 lead. Following a pitching change by Eureka, Evola ripped a two-run single to left that scored Stedman and Peters that made the score 11-1. Webster scored their final run of the inning and of the game on a two-out pinch hit rbi single by Nick Schumacher that scored Theodore that pushed the score to 12-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Wilson recorded a popout and got back-to-back groundouts that ended the game.

For the game, McBride went 2-for-3 with two rbi's while Evola added two rbi's on one hit. In addition, Peters, Schumacher, and Stedman recorded one rbi each. On the mound, Greifelt pitched five innings and struck out eight while Wilson pitched two innings and struck out one. 


Game 2: Webster 9, Eureka 1

WU's Peters opened the second game with a bunt single to third and later reached third with back-to-back stolen bases. Moments later, Theodore gave the Gorloks the 1-0 advantage with a rbi double to center that scored Peters. In the bottom of the first, Carter Hunt took the mound for the sixth time this season and struck out all three batters he saw for his first scoreless inning of the game. 

In the top of the second, the Gorloks extended their lead to 3-0 with a two-run home run by Nick Wrubluski that scored Hartz. In the bottom half, Hunt got the first out of the inning with a groundout to Peters at shortstop. Moments later, he recorded his second consecutive scoreless inning with back-to-back strikeouts. 

In the top of the third, Peters led off the inning with a solo home run over the left field wall that made the score 4-0. The reigning SLIAC Hitter of the Week in Theodore followed up with a double to left and scored on a rbi single to center by Evola that increased the lead to 5-0. 

In the top of the fourth, Eureka made a pitching change to Sheldon Geuvens. WU's Jacob Charlson led off the inning with a single to right and advanced to second. Moments later, Charlson advanced to third on a single by Theodore as Theodore stole second. With runners in scoring position, Evola laced a two-run single to left that scored Charlson and Theodore that increased the lead to 7-0. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Red Devils recorded back-to-back hits that started the inning. Following a wild pitch issued by Hunt, both runners added 90 feet into scoring position. After a strikeout recorded by Hunt, Eureka scored their only run of the game on a rbi groundout by Brandt King. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Hunt recorded his fourth scoreless inning of the game that ended in back-to-back strikeouts. In the bottom of the sixth, Webster made their first pitching change of the game and called upon reliever J.T. Miller. Miller got the first outs of the inning with a flyout and foul out. He closed out the inning with his first strikeout of the game for a scoreless inning. 

In the top of the seventh, Evola got the inning started with a lead off single to center and advanced to second on a walk drawn by McBride. With one out and two runners on base, Hartz laced a rbi single to left that scored McBride for the 8-1 advantage. With runners on the corners, Stedman singled through the left side that scored LaRocco that pushed the lead to 9-1. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Webster called upon right-hander Elijah Rompala-Matthews out of the bullpen. He allowed two walks and got out of a jam with a strikeout that kept the score at 9-1. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Webster made another pitching change and entered in two-way student-athlete McBride. He recorded a scoreless inning that included a flyout, a strikeout, and a pop out to Hailstone at third base. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Gorloks made their final pitching change of game and entered in Joel Arsenault out of the bullpen. Arsenault retired the first two batters he faced by way of strikeouts and recorded a flyout that ended the game. 

For the game, Evola went 3-for-5 with three rbi's while Theodore went 3-for-5 with one rbi. In addition, Peters went 2-for-4 with one rbi while Wrubluski drove in two with a two-run homer. 

On the mound, Hunt pitched five innings and tied his career high of eight strikeouts. In addition, Webster used four different relievers that pitched one inning each and recorded at least one strikeout each. 

The Gorloks will continue conference play with a road trip to Mississippi University for Women on Tuesday, March 25 starting at 1:00PM in Columbus, Mississippi.