IW softball drops SLIAC opener

EUREKA, Ill. - The Iowa Wesleyan Tigers softball team lost a back-and-forth battle against Eureka on Saturday.

The scheduled doubleheader was a battle of projected Top 5 conference teams.

The Red Devils, picked second in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's preseason poll, outlasted the visiting Tigers.

Iowa Wesleyan, which was selected to end up in a tie for fourth, could not bring home runners in scoring position in the final inning and lost by the final score of 8-6.

The two teams were scheduled to play a second game, but Mother Nature interferred with that plan and the nightcap was rained out.

The Tigers struck first. With two runners on and one out in the top of the first inning, Alex Eyman lined a 3-run home run to center field to give Iowa Wesleyan a 3-0 lead.

The Red Devils, however, hit their own three-run bomb in the bottom half, and it was 3-3 after one.

Eureka hit back-to-back dingers in the third inning to take a 6-3 lead after the inning was over.

Iowa Wesleyan's Alyssa Pfadenhauer launched a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning to cut into the Red Devils lead at 6-4.

The Red Devils responded with two more runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning, and it was 8-4 for Eureka after four.

If the Tigers were questioning their chances, then Eymangave her team a needed answer in the fifth inning.

It was Eyman again who came up clutch. She hit her second home run of the day, a two-run bomb to center to cut the lead to 8-6.

Iowa Wesleyan had two runners on base in the top of the seventh inning but were unable to get either of them over the plate for another run.

The Red Devils escaped with a two-run victory.

Eyman had a monster night despite the loss, finishing 3-for-3 with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs scored.

Pfadenhauer went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run, and Kara Krieger finished the game with two hits.

Morgan Christner was tagged with the loss in the circle.

Christner pitched six innings and gave up eight earned runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five batters.

The Tigers are now 0-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

They will host Greenville University in a home doubleheader on Friday, the beginning of a 10-game homestand.