The Hearts scored single tallies in the first and third. Harper, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, led off the game with a base hit. He was eventually thrown out at the plate on a ground ball, but Hull delivered the two-out RBI single to give EHS an early 1-0 lead.

Harper belted a solo home run with one out in the third to make it 2-0. It stayed that way until the Hearts exploded in the fifth.

Those runs were more than enough for Kaden Nichols. He went 6.2 strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out four, while throwing 117 pitches. Harper came on to record the final out.

And talking about strong pitching performances, the Hearts certainly got one from Josh McDevitt in the regional opener. The senior righthander gave up just three hits and one unearned run, while walking two and striking out 11. He went all eight innings and threw 102 total pitches.

McDevitt eventually got the win when Raddatz singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Hearts a walk-off 2-1 victory over Charleston.

With one out in the eighth, Nichols drew a walk. He went to second on a passed ball and to third on a base hit by Kaden Koberlein. Raddatz then lined a 1-0 pitch into centerfield, allowing Nichols to race home with the game-winner.

EHS took a 1-0 lead in the first. Raddatz walked, raced to third when Hull grounded a single into rightfield and scored on an RBI hit by Maxedon.

Charleston tied the game in the fourth. The Trojans used a single, stolen base, passed ball and ground out to get their run acoss.

The Hearts, now 19-15 on the season, will face a 24-11 Troy Triad team in the sectional. The Knights defeated Highland 1-0 to win the Jerseyville Regional.