Bautista and Merriweather Homer in Lopsided Eutectic Win

The Eutectic baseball team travelled to Elsah, Ill., on Tuesday evening for a non-conference game against Principia College (6-16). The UHSP offense racked up 11 hits in the seven-inning lopsided 17-5 victory over the PC Panthers, including home runs by Jovonnie Bautista and Malcolm Merriweather.

The Eutectics scored two runs in their first at bat when Ruben Ogando's sac fly sent Logan Stribling across the plate and later a Dustin Aleck double drove home Bautista. In the top of the second, a Bautista sac fly scored Alston Morrell before Merriweather stepped up and cracked his sixth home run of the season: a three-run homer scoring Stribling and Holden Cambell to make it 6-0. After an uneventful third inning, Merriweather hit an RBI single to left field to score Campbell and put the Euts up 7-0 after the fourth.

In the top of the fifth, the Eutectics nearly doubled their score as the Panther defense fell apart. Jabez King and Cambell both scored on separate wild pitches and Morell scored on an infield error. Campbell had hit an RBI double to score Barrett Bressette, and a sac fly by Merriweather pushed Bautista across the plate. King, in his second time at bat in the inning, singled to shortstop to score Ogando before the inning was over and the Eutectics were up 13-0.

It was the top of the sixth inning when Bautista hit his two-RBI home run, scoring Hector Perez in the process. Perez scored again In the final (seventh) inning, off a single by Bressette, and another Prin error allowed Gage Blue to score the final run for the Eutectics.

Principia marked the board in their final at bat, recording five runs off four hits and an error before the final out.

Dustin Aleck, Holden Campbell, and Malcolm Merriweather each had two hits for the Eutectics. Jovonnie Bautista and Merriweather combined for nine RBIs.

Starting UHSP pitcher Nolan Harding earned the win, allowing only three hits and no runs from the Principia team through five full innings. Colin Malally pitched the final two innings for the Eutectics. Principia's Charlie Reis took the loss, retiring after 4.1 innings with five hits, 12 runs, and four walks. Gavin Brustm finished off the final 2.2 innings for the Panthers.

The Eutectics now hold a season record of 8-18 as they will return to Conference play this weekend looking for their second AMC victory this season. Rain forced the upcoming three-game series with Columbia College (25-10, 9-0 AMC) to be moved to Columbia, Mo., starting with a doubleheader on Friday, April 5, at 1 p.m.