Beavers Collect Second SLIAC Sweep With Wins Over Eureka

EUREKA, IL – Blackburn College Softball collected their second straight sweep over a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe as they defeated Eureka College 3-2 and 7-1 in a doubleheader Wednesday. 

Freshman Kenadee Frey led the way with five hits and scored three runs. Freshman Kailynn Kruep added four hits, scored two runs and also had two runs batted in along with a triple and a home run. 

Sophomore Breana Allen chipped in with three runs while senior Mckenzie Smith had a team-best four RBI's. 

Junior Shelby Koeing threw six strikeouts and allowed just two hits in four innings of work while senior Taylor Girth allowed zero earned runs in seven innings of action. 

The opener saw Blackburn get on the board first with two runs in the third inning. Allen got on with a single and scored when Frey followed with a double. Kruep then put Frey on third with a bunt single before Smith's sacrifice fly allowed Frey to put Blackburn up 2-0. 

The Red Devils responded with a run in the fourth and in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2 but Blackburn answered with a run in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Allen walked then got to second off a Frey single. During the next at bat, a wild pitch allowed the pair to advance and a throwing error by Eureka let Allen score the game-winning run to give the Beavers the 3-2 victory. 

In the nightcap, Kruep started things early with her first career home run to put Blackburn up 1-0 in the first inning. The third inning saw Allen and Frey then get to scoring position off a sacrifice bunt from Kruep. Smith's single to left field allowed both Allen and Frey to score and put the Beavers ahead 3-0. 

Eureka scored a run in the bottom of the third inning but Blackburn responded in a big way in their fifth inning. Frey got on due to an error and Kruep followed with a triple to score Frey. After a pitching change, Smith singled to score Kruep and make it 5-1. 

The inning continued with sophomore Zoe Mitchell reaching on an error before Koeing and junior Grace Mackey both walked to load the bases. Junior Miley Kwiatkowski followed with a single which scored Mitchell. With bases still loaded, Allen walked to score Koeing and put Blackburn up 7-1 for the BC win. 

With the wins, the Beavers move to 16-16 on the season and 5-5 in the SLIAC. The team returns to action Friday afternoon with a SLIAC doubleheader at Greenville College.