It was all too familiar of a story.

Good pitching, but not enough hitting.

That has been the scenario too often during the second half of the spring season for the Effingham Flaming Hearts baseball team.

And it was certainly the case Thursday afternoon.

Jackson Lee pitched a terrific game, but received no support. Lee gave up only one run, but that came in the bottom of the seventh inning and resulted in a 1-0 victory for Mattoon in an opening round game of the Class 3A Regional C.

It was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel the entire game. Lee and Mattoon ace Meade Johnson matched each other pitch for pitch.

But in the seventh, Jason Skocy drew a one-out walk for the Green Wave. That brought in Johnson, who ripped the first pitch he saw into the gap and Skocy raced around the bases and scored on the game-winning, walk-off double.

It ended a season that started out very promising. The Hearts combined good pitching with an offense that was scoring nearly nine runs a game and raced out to a 9-0 start. But even though the pitching stayed pretty strong the remainder of the season, the bats went cold.

As a result, EHS went 2-12 from that point and finished the season 11-12. In those 12 losses, the Hearts were shut out five times and scored three or fewer runs in four other games. They scored just 31 runs in those 12 losses and 13 of those came in one game.

Effingham had just two hits and five baserunners against Johnson, who went all seven innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out 11 in his 77-pitch performance.

The Hearts best scoring opportunity came in the second. Max Hardiek led off with a base hit and Dylan Cunningham and Joe Matteson both reached on errors to load the bases with no outs. But Johnson struck out the next three batters to end the threat.

Effingham had just two baserunners the final five innings. Preston Latch was hit by a pitch in the fifth and Jack Blickem had a lead-off single in the sixth.

Lee allowed only five hits and the one run. He walked three and struck out five while throwing 89 pitches.

Mattoon will now play for the regional championship. The Green Wave will face either Olney or top-seeded Troy Triad at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

The Effingham Hearts finally showed a little life on offense in the nightcap Saturday, giving them a split in a doubleheader at Mt. Zion.

The Hearts collected eight hits, got a home run from Jackson Lee and scored in four innings, en route to a 6-1 victory that put an end to their seven-game losing skid.

In the opener, EHS managed just five hits and got blanked 2-0. It was the fourth time the Hearts have been shut out in their last seven games.

The Hearts got a pair of solid pitching performances. Lee gave up only four hits and two runs and struck out 12 in the first game, but just didn’t receive any run support.

In the nightcap, Brayden Pals pitched 5.2 innings of shutout baseball to get the win. Matthew Loy took care of the final 1.1 innings of work and gave up just one unearned run.

The Hearts took the lead in the opening inning of the second game. Quest Hull, who had four hits in the twin-bill, led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Lee.

In the third, Lee sent a pitch over the leftfield fence to increase the EHS lead to 2-0.

The Hearts then tacked on three more runs in the fourth. Preston Latch got things started with a double. Then with two outs, Hull ripped an RBI triple, followed by two walks to load the bases and a single by Jack Blickem to drive in two and make it 5-0.

Things looked promising in the first inning of the opener as well. Hull led off with a base hit, but was erased in a double play. Lee and Blickem then had back-to-back singles, but were left stranded.

Effingham had just two more hits over the final six innings – a third inning single by Hull and a base hit by Kalen Reardon in the seventh.

The Hearts actually loaded the bases with just one out in the seventh. In addition to Reardon’s hit, they also had two walks. But the final two batters struck out.

Mt. Zion bunched together three of their five hits in the sixth. Jonathan Oliger drove home the first run with a triple, followed by an RBI single off the bat of Jacob Bailey.

Oliger got the win for the Braves, going the first six innings. Ethan Hamrick relieved to start the seventh, but after the bases were loaded, Ryne Buttz came on to record the two strikeouts and earn the save.

The Hearts are now 11-8 overall and 3-2 in the Apollo Conference. They will have another conference contest Tuesday at Mahomet-Seymour.

Mahomet-Seymour built an early seven-run lead, en route to a 10-3 Apollo Conference victory at home Wednesday over Effingham.

The Bulldogs scored three runs in the second and then used the long ball to make 7-0 in the third. Will Sampson cracked a three-run homer, followed by a solo shot by Zach Carr.

The Hearts got on the scoreboard with two runs in the fourth. Joe Matteson led off with a home run. The Hearts then had a hit batter and three consecutive walks – the final one to Preston Latch that forced home a run.

Mahomet-Seymour added a single tally in the fourth and scored its final two runs in the sixth. Quest Hull had an RBI single in the seventh for Effingham’s final run.

Jack Blickem took the loss for the Hearts. He pitched the first 2.1 innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs. He walked one and struck out one. Josh McDevitt pitched the final 3.2 innings. He gave up four hits and three runs, while walking six and striking out five.

The Hearts dropped to 11-9 overall and 3-3 in the Apollo Conference. They play at Teutopolis on Saturday. Game time is 11 a.m.

The Effingham Hearts’ struggles at the plate continued Friday afternoon.

The Hearts managed just three hits and were shutout for the third time in their last seven games, dropping a 5-0 decision to North Clay in Louisville.

Effingham opened the season with nine straight wins and were 10-1 at one time. During those 10 wins, the Hearts averaged 10 runs per game.

But it’s been a different story offensively since then.

EHS has dropped its last six games and has scored just 18 total runs over that span – and 13 of those came in one game.

The Hearts had just four base runners against North Clay – three singles and a hit batter. They were set down in order four times and had two runners reach base in the same inning just once. That was in the second when Jack Blickem singled and Dylan Cunningham was hit by a pitch. They also had base hits from Max Hardiek in the fourth and Christian Raddatz in the fifth.

The Cardinals score single tallies in the first and fifth and then tacked on three more in the sixth.

Kalen Reardon went the distance for the Hearts. He allowed eight hits and five runs, while walking one and striking out five. Carson Burkett got the win for North Clay. In seven innings of three-hit work, he didn’t walk a batter and struck out five while throwing just 75 pitches.

The Hearts dropped to 10-7 overall. They will return to Apollo Conference action today (Saturday) at Mt. Zion. They begin the day 3-1 in league play.