The Knox College softball team battled hard at home Wednesday, but came up short in two action-packed games against Eureka College, dropping the contests 10-2 and 12-4.

The Prairie Fire (6-18) surged ahead 2-0 in the opener. Cheyanne Merkel drove in Taylor Goudschaal, then Janet Lentini singled to bring Merkel home.

Eureka stormed back, plating single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings to seize a 3-2 lead. In the fifth, the Red Devils exploded for six runs and then tacked on another in the sixth to seal the final tally.

In the second game, Knox took a 1-0 lead in the third when Goudschaal singled home Victoria Torres. However, Eureka answered with another big inning, this time scoring 10 runs in the fourth.

Knox answered back with three in the bottom of the fourth. Kylie Thomson doubled home Chelsea McKee, Kara Burwell brought in Brenlie Bartlett with an RBI groundout, and Torres capped the inning by singling home Thomson. Eureka answered in the fifth with two more runs and then shut out the Prairie Fire in the bottom of the inning to end the game.

Next up, Knox looks to turn up the heat this weekend, hosting Lawrence for a Saturday doubleheader and Harris-Stowe for two exciting games Sunday.