SEB clinches EIC championship with win at Mulberry Grove

MULBERRY GROVE – Mother Nature helped the Lady Eagles build a lead.

Then she almost took it away.

St. Elmo/Brownstown hit its first three home runs of the season into a strong wind blowing out to left-center field on Tuesday, and then fought through a downpour in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the regular-season Egyptian-Illini Conference championship by beating Mulberry Grove, 9-7.

“The weather conditions completely flip-flopped from the first pitch to the last one,” said SEB coach Megan Burrus of the final frame. “It was big for the kids to step up and get it done after Mulberry loaded the bases and did what they had to do to try to get a win, but we got the better of it.”

The Lady Eagles (11-9, 4-0 EIC), who had not won the EIC title since 2011, allowed four runs in the seventh inning as rain began to fall.

There was about a five-minute delay after the first seven batters due to a sudden downpour, but junior pitcher Baylee Scholes ended the game by tagging out a runner at the plate who was trying to score on a wild pitch.

Junior Audriana Pruett and seniors Danie Austin and Bethany Oberlink each homered into the wind for SEB, and junior Karissa Woody and senior Josie Koontz had home runs for Mulberry Grove.

“There was a little help with the wind,” Burrus said. “Everything was a nice easy swing, because if you try to hit it over the fence, it’s never going to get there.

“They are thinking about having good contact and putting it in play, but those three got all of it.”

Pruett’s homer broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning, and came when she fought off an inside pitch with a hard swing. It was her first extra-base hit since she doubled on March 24.

The Lady Aces scored on an error in the third, and Austin hit a solo home run in the fourth for her first hit since April 17. She scored twice in the game, and had seven runs in the four EIC games this season.

Freshman Morgan Brown had a two-run double and Oberlink had a three-run homer to highlight a five-run fifth inning. Junior Stephanie Calhoun also drove home the winning run with an infield single.

Those big hits came after the Lady Eagles struggled to contain Mulberry Grove senior Breann Tompkins’ breaking pitch and struck out looking six times in the first four innings – including three straight batters in the third.

“We struck out looking six out of 12 outs in the first four innings, but we turned it around to get something done,” Burrus said. “If you’re not going to swing, why bring a bat?

“That’s something we discipline for, because there is no way to get on if you don’t swing,” she said. “It was completely out of character, but we still got a win.”

Woody’s first home run of the season, a double by senior Kate Jolliff and an RBI single by Tompkins gave Mulberry Grove (8-9, 2-2 EIC) a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Austin gave SEB an insurance run with her third hit of the game, an RBI single, in the sixth, and the Lady Aces were retired in order in the bottom of that inning before rallying in the seventh.

Singles by sophomore Lauren Robison and Jolliff put runners on for Koontz, a contact hitter who lifted a rare three-run home run to left-center.

After the second out of the inning, sophomore Kylea Vohlken finished off a 3-for-4 day with a double, and freshman Kassidy Jolliff walked before the game was delayed.

Vohlken scored on a wild pitch, and freshman Emila Langel was hit by a pitch before Jolliff was cut down at the plate to end the game.

The win marked the second straight close game in the EIC season for SEB after a 12-11 win at Beecher City last Thursday. SEB also beat Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 20-5, and Ramsey, 14-1.

“Everybody has a completely different team than last year,” Burrus said. “We beat Ramsey, struggled with Beecher City and against Christ Our Rock, we played well for a win.

“It’s good that this was the last game, because every win before this made this one more important.”

The EIC Tournament will be held in Centralia next Saturday.

Tuesday, April 29
SEB 9
Mulberry Grove 7
S: 0-2-0-1-5-1-0—9-12-3
M: 0-0-1-0-2-0-4—7-10-1
WP: Scholes; 7 IP, 1 K
LP: Tompkins; 7 IP, 6 K
Lady Eagles: D. Austin, 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs; Pruett, 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs, HBP; Oberlink, 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, run; Brown, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, SB; Krystyn Fitch, 1-for-4, 2 runs, SB; Calhoun, 1-for-4, RBI; Tiffany Austin, 1-for-4; Scholes, 1-for-4; Tessa Philpot, run; Darby Moss, HBP.
Lady Aces: Vohlken, 3-for-4, 2B, run; Koontz, 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, run; Woody, 1-for-3, HR, RBI, run; Kate Jolliff, 2-for-4, 2B, 2 runs, SB; Tompkins, 1-for-4, RBI; Robison, 1-for-4, 2 runs; Kayla Zimmerman, 1-for-4, SB; Kassidy Jolliff, BB; Langel, HBP.