Kaiden Nichols scattered five hits and the Effingham Hearts took advantage of mistakes Wednesday afternoon to post a 4-0 victory over Charleston in a semifinal game of the Salem Class 3A Regional.

The Green Wave had baserunners in every inning, and had the bases loaded in both the second and fifth innings, but Nichols was able to squelch each scoring opportunity. He walked four and struck out nine, while throwing 116 pitches. Jude Traub relieved in the seventh and recorded the final two outs.

The Hearts scored their first run in the bottom of the second without benefit of a hit. Spencer Fox drew a lead-off walk. After two passed balls, he was able to advance to third base and then stole home to put EHS on top to stay.

Effingham tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Brody Boehm singled and Nichols walked to lead off the inning. Kaden Koeberlein then laid down a bunt that resulted in a throwing error by Charleston’s third baseman, allowing both Boehm and Nichols to race home. Cam Raddatz capped the inning with an RBI single.

The Hearts improved to 21-10 on the season. They will play for the regional championship on Saturday. They will face either Mattoon or Salem at 11 a.m.