Eureka hammered out 13 hits, senior pitcher Chrystal Hall struck out 16 Lindbergh batters, and the Wildcats repeated as Class 5 District 2 champions with a 5-2 victory on Monday at the Chesterfield Athletic Association.
The Flyers, the No. 3 seed, landed the first blow when a two-out single by Marlee Steiner drove home Charli Kupferle, who had singled, in the first inning to give them a 1-0 lead.
“Yeah, I was a little shaky, but I got my confidence back and was ready to go the rest of the game,” said Hall, who’s logged 160 innings in the last two seasons.
Staked to a 1-0 lead, Lindbergh senior pitcher Marlee Steiner retired the top-seeded Wildcats in order in the bottom of the first. Hall fanned three of the four Flyers she faced in the second, issuing a walk to Kupferle.
“You know that Chrystal can dominate a game like that,” Eureka head coach Mark Mosley said. “After that first inning where she gave up a run and two hits, she shut it down for several innings, and they didn’t score again until that homer.”
With one out in the Eureka (21-4) second, senior Kayleigh Niles tripled,and was held up at third after freshman Teresa Hutchcraft singled. Freshman Josie Humes then reached on an error, and the Wildcats had the bases loaded. Niles scored to tie the game 1-1 on a single by junior Emmy Seiler.
“Kayleigh’s triple to start off the second inning really brought up our energy and momentum,” Hall said.
Hall busied herself with striking out Flyers in the top of the third before Eureka’s offense kept Lindbergh (17-9) outfielders busy and Mosley playing traffic cop at third base. Freshman second baseman Evelynn Humes started the onslaught with a double. With one out, senior Olivia Manion doubled and Evelynn scored to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. A triple by Niles and single by Hutchcraft brought in two more runs and a 4-1 lead.
Humes made a strong play at second base in the sixth inning as Eureka held the lead. Defense might be secondary to another aspect of her game.
“I like base running a lot. It’s my favorite,” she said after going 3 for 4.
The game remained 4-1 until Lindbergh sophomore Kendall Martin led off the sixth with a home run. But the Wildcats got the run right back in the bottom of the frame after senior Journey Vaughn led off with a single and scored on a double by Evelynn Humes.
The Flyers had the tying run at the plate in the seventh when Hall ended the game with her 16th K.
“When she was a freshman, I told her, ‘You’re going to lead us to some great things,’” Mosley said. “And she’s doing it now.”
“I think we’re going to give some teams a run for their money,” Hall said. “We’ve got the energy to take us there.”
Eureka opened the district tournament with a 20-0 shutout against Ladue (8, 6-14) on Oct. 14. In the semifinals against Marquette on Oct. 15, the Wildcats scored three runs in the first inning to subdue the Mustangs (4, 15-11). Eureka is the Suburban Conference Yellow pool champion and shut out the Mustangs 10-0 in conference play.
Against Marquette, Hall struck out 12, and Evelynn Humes, catcher Alina Logush and Hutchcraft had two hits apiece. Hutchcraft hit a solo home run.
Eureka awaits the winner of District 1 as its opponent for the state quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 24. The time and location are yet to be determined. Jackson (1, 17-15) played Fox (3, 11-12) on Tuesday after deadline in the District 1 final.
“We had a great practice (Sunday) night, and we talked about how we wanted to field for all of their (Flyers) hitters,” Mosley said. “We executed to a tee in the batter’s box against a great pitcher. We had an approach against her. We knew what she had. And then we executed to perfection. I’m very proud of them all.”
Kem throws 4 TDs against Lancers
Be it by land or air, Eureka QB Zac Kem has delivered touchdowns all season.
If the end zones were filled with water, you could add by sea to Kem’s assault on the eight defenses the Wildcats have played against.
With the season down to its final game before the Wildcats (6-2) embark on a journey that is the Class 5 District 2 tournament, Kem sliced up Lafayette (3-5) with a season-high four touchdown passes in a 35-8 win in Wildwood on Oct. 16. Kem completed 11 of 18 passes for 151 yards, and Eureka improved to 4-0 in the Suburban Conference Yellow pool. The Wildcats can clinch the title outright at home Friday night by beating Lindbergh (4-4, 3-1).
“We know who we have to beat,” Eureka head coach Jake Sumner said. “I haven’t looked ahead all season. This one is no different. Lindbergh is a physical team that knows how to play tight football. We want to wrap up our regular season on a great note. That’s been how we approached all year. We’re going to get their A-game.”
The Wildcats have a sizeable lead over Parkway West (6-2) in the District 2 standings. Eureka has not played the Longhorns this season. The Flyers beat West 45-7 on Oct. 9.
Kem has thrown 17 TDs, 1,400 yards and hasn’t thrown an interception in 163 attempts. He seems to be at his best when a play breaks down, whether that’s starting with a bad snap, or a missed block.
“He’s a special kid. You watch him do what he does. He commands the offense,” Sumner said. “That’s his strongest attribute. The results happening on Friday are the result of his preparation.”
Chase Edmiston caught Kem’s first TD of 11 yards with 5:53 left in the first quarter. Lincoln Rausch hauled in a 26-yard scoring pass from Kem in the final minute of the first. Two Patrick Bradley PATs made it 14-0.
Rausch is the team’s kicker and routinely gives the defense the advantage of a touchback.
“He made a great catch in the corner,” Sumner said of his TD. “Lincoln had a knee injury as a sophomore. He’s been that senior story we love to brag about.”
Eureka scored two more TDs in the second quarter. The first was a 9-yard TD run by Curtis Harris at 8:56, and again the Wildcats scored in the final minute, this time a 25-yard connection between Kem and Sal Gianino. Bradley missed the PAT on that TD, and Eureka led 27-0 at the break.
Gianino and Kem hooked up for the only points of the third quarter on a 13-yard pitch and catch for six points and then on a pass on the two-point conversion.
“He’s a key piece of our offense and has been doing his job quietly and effectively,” Sumner said of Gianino. “He’s so gifted catching the ball. He got to showcase that on Friday. He’s been a blocking machine all year. As he continues to grow on his football journey, we can line him in the box, open formations, split out. He can do it.”
Eureka began the season with a 49-48 overtime win at Troy Buchanan. And while the next week’s 29-28 home loss to Hannibal didn’t take OT, the way it was decided gave it that feel.
The Wildcats traveled to undefeated Ladue (8-0) on Oct. 9 and had locked horns with the Rams 37-37 at the end of regulation. A 26-yard field goal by Gavin Bader turned out to be the winning points for Ladue. Bader’s 31-yard FG with five seconds left in regulation sent the game to OT. Kem had 366 yards of total offense, rushed for a TD and passed for two. Riley Major caught five passes for 126 yards, including a 41-yard TD to start the game.
Eureka notches 5 goals for fifth time in 2026
The Eureka boys soccer team scored five goals in a game for the fifth time and posted its seventh shutout of the season with a 5-0 win against St. Francis Borgia in Washington on Monday night.
The Wildcats had a record of 11-7-1 when they went into Tuesday’s Suburban Conference Red pool game at Parkway South (7-7-1) after deadline. Both teams are in Class 4 District 2 at Ladue. Eureka hosts Rockwood Summit (4-9-2) on Monday, Oct. 26, and Farmington (11-5) on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in its two games left before the district tournament begins. Both games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
The Wildcats won 1-0 in overtime in Farmington last season.
“They’re very organized and have been playing together a long time,” Eureka head coach Mike Hanna said of the Knights. “They challenged us, and we beat them in OT in the rain last year. They’re playing teams tough. Summit: All eyes are on that one.”
Another team named the Knights, Borgia, continues to struggle this season and fell to 1-15 after the loss to the Wildcats. This one-off season is just two years after the Knights finished third in the state in Class 3. They had a winning record last year.
Goalie Charlie Kovis made three saves, played all 80 minutes and earned the shutout. Dominic Woods scored two goals, and Liam Wilkens, Logan Klingler and Henry Eichholz scored Eureka’s other goals.
Regardless of Borgia’s struggles, Hanna’s always pleased to win on their pitch.
“We’ve gone there and found ways to lose,” he said. “Traditionally, that’s a hard win, especially going there.”
Eureka won two of three games playing in the Northwest Futbol Classic Oct. 12-15. The Wildcats blanked Bayless 4-0 at Parkway South and then beat the Patriots 5-2 at South. Woods, Eichholz, Carter Tall and Colton Sobacke scored Eureka’s goals against the Bronchos.
“We led (Bayless) 1-0 at halftime and our boys were feeling confident, but if you’re not scoring, you’re not winning,” Hanna said. “We’re scoring more goals, but getting that timely goal is huge for us. That was exciting, because it set off the week.”
Hanna classified the victory over South as “a big win.”
“They’re in our district. We kind of controlled that game throughout. We play them again so that will be a test if they change things up. It was one of our best performances in awhile.”
Eichholz scored three goals, and the Wildcats beat Northwest 6-5 in overtime in a wild game early in the season. The two teams met again in Cedar Hill on Oct. 15 in the Futbol final, but there would be no goal-fest this time. Parker Durham scored four goals for the Lions in the first game against Eureka, and he scored one in a 2-0 Futbol win. The Wildcats fired nine shots on goal, but keeper Emerson Rupp saved all of them. Eureka had a goal erased in the first half after being called offsides.
“The first game was back and forth, the teams were even,” Hanna said. “In this game, we dominated every phase except the scoreboard. The ball would just not go in the net.”
Hanna said the Wildcats played tough against all of the teams in their district.
“The game against Lafayette went sideways, but if we’re hungry enough, if you get one win, it gets hectic for everyone.”
State golf wrapped up Tuesday
Two Eureka sophomores competed in the Class 4 girls golf state championships at the Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield on Monday and Tuesday.
Fort Zumwalt West of O'Fallon won its first golf championship with a two-day team score of 636. Raymore-Peculiar also shot 636, but lost a scorecard playoff to the Jaguars. Ray-Pec senior Adeline Swan was the medalist with a score of 138, one shot better than Staley sophomore Betsy Mitchell.
Eureka sophomore Skylar Mann captured a state medal in 15th place after she carded an 89 on the second day, for a two-day score of 159. Wildcat sophomore Macie Pickert was 29th with a score of 167.
Mann and Pickert qualified for state after competing in the District 1 meet at the Landings at Spirit Golf in Chesterfield on Oct. 7. Mann was third with a 3-over par 74, and Pickert was sixth with a 77.