Ryder Sloss delivered a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday, giving Mt. Carmel a walk-off 2-1 win at home over Effingham.
With two outs and nobody on base, Jaxon Browning singled to get the winning rally started. Then on a 3-2 pitch, Sloss lined a double for the game-winner.
It was a pitcher’s dual throughout. Effingham’s Kaiden Nichols and Mt. Carmel’s Dakota Mounts were both effective. Nichols allowed just one unearned run through four innings before being relieved by Colton Webb. Mounts went six innings, giving up one run on five hits. Neither starter, however, figured into the decision.
Andrew Gillihan pitched a scoreless seventh and got the win for the Golden Aces. Webb only allowed the two seventh-inning hits in 2.2 innings of work, but took the loss. He and Nichols combined to strike out 15 batters.
The Hearts scored their lone run in the top of the third inning. The lead-off hitter, Brody Boehm, was hit by a pitch and stole second. Then with two outs, Cam Raddatz delivered an RBI single.
Mt. Carmel tied the game with an unearned run in the fourth, combining two errors and a base hit to tie the game.
The Hearts, now 12-5 on the season, will return to action Wednesday. They will play at home against South Central.
By Steve Raymond
The Sports Report
Brady Hatton and Brock Fearday proved to be a two-man wrecking crew.
Hatton blasted two long home runs and drove in four, while Fearday belted another “no-doubter” and pitched a complete game.
That proved to be a winning combination as the St. Anthony Bulldogs posted an 8-2 win Tuesday over Teutopolis at Paul Smith Field in Effingham.
The fireworks started early.
After the first two batters were retired in the bottom of the first, Fearday connected on an 0-1 pitch and launched it well over the centerfield fence to put the hosts on top to stay.
Connor Roepke followed with a double and Hatton then drove a 3-1 offering to almost the same spot as Fearday’s, staking St. Anthony to the 3-1 lead.
“Anytime you can grab the lead in a rivalry game like this, it’s huge,” St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke admitted. “We had a couple real good swings against a very good pitcher. That’s always good to see.”
St. Anthony added a single tally in the fourth without getting a hit and the Wooden Shoes got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Devin Kreke.
The bottom of the fifth proved to be decisive. Beau Adams reached on an error and Fearday, who had three hits in the game, looped a single into right field. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Roepke brought in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Hatton then went deep again. This time it was a 1-1 pitch that he hammered, and once again, it sailed over the centerfield fence to increase the St. Anthony lead to 7-1.
Colton Webb and Kaiden Nichols turned in stellar pitching performances Saturday, helping the Effingham Flaming Hearts post an Apollo Conference doubleheader sweep at Mattoon.
Webb gave up five hits and Spencer Fox and Cam Raddatz belted back-to-back homers, as the Hearts took the opener, 3-2.
In the nightcap, Nichols tossed a one-hitter and Raddatz drove in a pair, as the Hearts beat the Green Wave 4-1 to complete the sweep.
The first game was scoreless through 3½ innings. Fox changed that by driving a 3-1 pitch over the rightfield fence. Two pitches later, Raddatz followed suit, lining a pitch over that same rightfield fence, putting the Hearts up 2-0.
Mattoon tied the game in the top of the fifth, but the Hearts scored the winning run in the bottom of that frame. Nichols got a one-out walk and Raddatz singled. When Webb’s ground ball was misplayed for an error, Nichols was able to score.
Webb walked two and struck out two in his 96-pitch performance.
In the second game, Jude Traub got what proved to be the winning rally started with a one-out double in the bottom of the third. Nichols walked and Raddatz doubled to put the Hearts on top. Webb then walked to load the bases and Braxton Lewis was hit by a pitch to force in the second run.
The Green Wave got their only hit in the fourth and scored their only run on a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the fourth, the first two batters were retired. Traub, who had three hits in the game, then singled and came around to score on a double by Nichols. After Fox walked, Raddatz came through again, delivering an RBI single.
Nichols walked two and struck out eight, while throwing 93 pitches.
The Hearts improved to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference. They will return to action Tuesday at Neoga.
The Effingham Flaming Hearts exploded for eight runs in the fifth inning Tuesday afternoon and went on to post a 12-4 win at Neoga.
The Hearts trailed 1-0 when they came to bat in the top of the fifth inning. Brody Boehm and Kaiden Nichols both singled to get the rally started. Kaden Koberlein followed with another base hit, but Boehm was thrown out trying to score.
Spencer Fox then walked to load the bases. That was the first of five walks in the inning – four of which forced in runs. Colton Webb and Braxton Lewis were the first two to walk with the sacks jammed and two more runs scored on a Neoga error.
Carter Braddy and Boehm both drew walks forcing in the fifth run of the frame. Nichols then delivered an RBI single and Koeberlein capped the inning with a two-run base hit, giving EHS an 8-1 lead.
The Hearts tacked on two more tallies in the sixth. Jude Traub drove in one with a base hit and Boehm added an RBI double.
Braddy pitched the first five innings and got the win. He allowed just one hit and one run, while walking four and striking out nine.
Effingham, now 12-4, will return to action Saturday at Mt. Carmel.
Gavin Bailey belted a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning Saturday, lifting Mahomet-Seymour to a 4-3 victory over Effingham in the first game of an Apollo Conference doubleheader at Evergreen Hollow Park.
The visiting Bulldogs completed the sweep with a 12-1 win in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Hearts held a 3-0 lead and starting pitcher Kaiden Nichols was cruising along with a three-hit shutout. But with one out in the seventh, Nichols reached his limit of 108 pitches and had to be taken out of the game.
The Bulldogs responded. A single, walk and an error loaded the bases with two outs. And on a 3-2 pitch, Bailey drove the ball over the rightfield fence for what proved to be the game-winner.
Mahomet-Seymour reliever Caden Starrick allowed a two-out hit in the bottom of the seventh, but got the final out to secure the win.
Effingham took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Colton Webb. The Hearts added two more tallies in the fourth. Braxton Lewis singled and Braden Verdeyen walked. Kaden Koeberlein drove in the first run with a base hit and the second run came across after a double steal.
Nichols made that stand up through 6.1 innings of work. The lefthander walked just one and struck out 10. Jude Traub relieved first and Koeberlein came in two batters later and took the loss.
EHS also took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame of the nightcap after back-to-back doubles by Spencer Fox and Cam Raddatz. But the Hearts had only one hit the rest of the way, a third-inning single by Nichols.
The Bulldogs put together six-run frames in both the third and fourth to take control. They combined four hits and three errors in the third and then had four hits and three walks in the fourth.
Webb pitched the first three innings for Effingham and took the loss. He allowed six hits and six unearned runs. He walked three and struck out five. Carter Braddy and Raddatz came on in relief.
The Hearts dropped to 9-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference. They will return to action Thursday at North Clay.
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