Kaden Koberlein walked and Camden Raddatz singled to get things started. Quest Hull then lined a double into left, bringing in Koberlein with the go-ahead run. Myles Maxedon, who had a big day for the Hearts, followed with a base hit up the middle, driving in two more. Colton Webb capped the inning with an RBI single, boosting the EHS lead to 6-2.

“That fifth inning was huge for us,” McNeely admitted. “You could see some of the energy drain from our kids after giving up those two runs. But I’m proud of how our kids came right back and put up four. I thought that kind of sucked the life out of Mt. Vernon.”

The Rams did have scoring opportunities in each of their final three at-bats. They scored a run in the sixth, but left two runners stranded in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Kaden Nichols was the starting pitcher for Effingham and went the first 5.2 innings. He allowed five hits and three runs, but only one was earned. He walked three and struck out seven, while throwing 103 pitches.

He left the game with two on and two out in the sixth. Jack Harper came on in relief and got the third out when Maxedon threw out a Mt. Vernon runner trying to steal third base. Harper allowed two base runners in the seventh, but got the final batter to hit a ground ball back to him to secure the victory and the sectional championship.

“Kaden pitched very well,” McNeely said. “When he’s throwing well, we know exactly what we’re going to get. He’s been a rock for us all year. He fills up the zone and makes guys swing the bat. As long as we make plays behind him, we know we’ll always be in the game with Kaden on the mound.”

EHS scored single tallies in the first and second innings. Maxedon drove in the first run with a two-out single, bringing in Koeberlein, who had also singled. Evan Waymoth and Spencer Fox had base hits in the second and Harper drove in the run with a fly ball.

Maxedon led the Hearts’ 12-hit attack, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs. Hull, Waymoth and Fox each had two hits.

“Myles had a really good game,” McNeely noted. “He’s hit the ball hard all year, even though the stats won’t say that. It seemed like every time he hit a ball hard, it was right at somebody. But he found some holes today and drove in some big runs for us.”

The Hearts will now prepare for a Champaign Central team that is 26-10 overall and won the Big 12 Conference title with a 10-1 record.

“They’re a good team that plays in a good conference,” McNeely explained. “They’re a solid club that won’t beat themselves. They like to play small ball, move runners over and put pressure on you when they can.”

Effingham, now 21-15 on the season, will be making its first trip to the super sectional since 2019.

Like Coach McNeely said earlier, it has been an up and down season. The Hearts were 5-9 in mid-May, but then won seven in a row and 10 out of 12. They hovered around the .500 mark the rest way, losing their final three regular season games before starting this postseason run.

“Getting that first regional win really boosted our confidence,” McNeely said. “Since then, we’ve been putting things together and just continued to believe in ourselves.

“These kids are hungry,” the coach added. “They’re not ready to be done yet. You can see that in the way they’re playing.”