Top-seeded Eureka grabs first-inning lead, never lets Macomb recover in regional championship

MACOMB, Ill. — The home-field advantage didn’t help the Macomb baseball team against the top-seeded team in the sub-sectional.

Eureka scored five runs in the first inning Saturday and used a solid pitching effort from Cohen Alstat to beat the Bombers 7-2 in the championship game of the Class 2A Macomb Regional at Phil Bradley Field.

Back-to-back singles leading off the bottom of the first set the stage for the Hornets to take control. The first run scored on a groundout and the second came in on a sacrifice fly. A single, an error and a two-run double by Tanner Wiegand made it 4-0 before Eureka’s John Martin capped the inning with an RBI single.

Macomb was shut out until the sixth inning when Drew Watson led off with a double and scored on Emmett Beck’s double. One out later, Langdon Lambert singled to drive in Beck. The comeback ended there.

Watson finished with two of the Bombers’ seven hits. Blaine Eddington suffered the loss as he allowed only two earned runs in 4⅓ innings with two strikeouts and two walks.

Eureka (31-4) advances to the Class 2A Chillicothe IVC Sectional, where it will face Sherrard at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Macomb ends its season with a 19-15 record.