The Effingham baseball team maintained its unblemished record Monday afternoon, but it didn’t come easy.

In fact, the Hearts needed a seventh-inning rally to accomplish that.

And it was a big seventh inning.

Effingham combined four hits, a walk, a hit batter and two errors to score seven times and come from behind and post an 11-5 victory over Neoga.

The game was initially scheduled to be played in Neoga, but due to weather concerns it was moved to Paul Smith Field.

It was a back-and-forth game. EHS led 1-0, trailed 3-1, led 4-3 and were on the short end of a 5-4 score heading to the seventh inning.

Two Neoga errors and a walk to Quest Hull loaded the bases with just one out. Joe Matteson was then hit by a pitch to force in the tying run and Jack Blickem followed a base hit that drove home two and put the Hearts on top. Before the inning was over, Kalen Reardon and Preston Latch delivered RBI singles and Jackson Lee drove in two more with a base hit.

Lee also had a run-scoring single in the fifth to finish with three RBI in the game, while Hull drove in two runs with a double in the second and a base hit in the three-run fifth.

Brayden Pals, the third pitcher for Effingham, got credit for the win. He relieved in sixth and pitched 1.2 innings. Matthew Loy came in to record the final out. Christian Raddatz was the starter and went the first four innings, allowing two hits and three unearned runs. Jackson Doedtman also pitched one inning.

The Hearts, now 6-0, will play Friday at Flora and then return home to face Charleston on Saturday.

Many experts will say pitching is the name of the game.

And so far this season, Effingham is proving to have plenty of it.

It was Kalen Reardon’s turn Thursday. He pitched six strong innings to help the Hearts come away with a 2-1 decision at Newton.

Reardon allowed only five hits, while walking two and striking out six during his 97-pitch performance. Jack Blickem pitched the seventh to earn the save.

Jackson Lee belted a solo home run in the top of the first to stake EHS to a quick 1-0 lead. Newton tied the game with a tally in the bottom of the third.

It stayed a 1-1 game until the sixth. An error, a walk and a base hit by Joe Matteson loaded the bases for the Hearts. The winning run scored when Quest Hull was hit by a pitch.

Newton had a chance to tie the game in the seventh. Mason Schafer reached on an error and ended up at second base. Ben Meinhart followed with a base hit. Schafer tried to score on the play, but Effingham centerfielder Christian Raddatz threw him out at the plate. Blickem then got the next two outs to secure the victory.

Schafer also pitched a strong game for the Eagles, allowing just five hits and one earned run. He walked three and struck out nine. Blickem had two of Effingham’s hits.

The Hearts, now 4-0, will open Apollo Conference play at home Saturday against Lincoln. The first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The goal is to score at least three runs.

“Yep, that’s our goal coming into every game,” EHS baseball coach Curran McNeely said. “If we can do that, with our pitching staff, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

That pitching staff was on display again Saturday morning at Paul Smith Field.

Jackson Lee and Josh McDevitt combined to allow just two runs and that was plenty as the Effingham Hearts opened Apollo Conference play with a 6-2 win at home over Lincoln.

“I think we have one of the better all-around pitching staffs,” McNeely explained. “We have a handful of arms that can pound the zone and I have confidence in all of them.”

In the Hearts five wins so far, they have given up 2, 1, 5, 1 and 0 runs. That's just nine runs in five games.

And the hard-throwing senior and sophomore were feeling stingy again Saturday. Both hit 90 miles-per-hour on the speed gun and made things difficult for the Lincoln batters.

The senior, Lee, went the first four innings and threw a total of 99 pitches. He was touched for a pair of runs on two hits in the fourth. He walked three and struck out 10 to get the win. McDevitt, just a sophomore, took over the in fifth and turned in three scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out five to earn the save.

“These two guys are comparable in the way they pitch,” McNeely noted. “Jackson struggled a little with his fastball command today and fell behind several batters. But he’ll get better as the spring moves forward.

“Then it’s nice to bring in a sophomore that can throw in the upper 80s or low 90s,” the first-year coach added. “He brings a lot to our program and works hard every day.”

Read more ...

The Effingham Hearts got their third baseball victory Tuesday afternoon, but it didn’t come easy.

The Hearts trailed after three innings, but rallied on offense and received dominating relief pitching before finishing with an 8-5 win at home over Shelbyville.

After the Rams scored four runs in the top of the third, Effingham trailed 5-3. But the Hearts scored a single tally in the third and then had two-run frames in both the fourth and sixth.

In the fourth, George Massey led off with a walk and eventually scored the tying run on a base hit by Max Nelson. Jackson Lee then drove home the lead run with a ground ball.

The Hearts added two insurance runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Jack Blickem and Joe Matteson.

The pitching of Josh McDevitt and Lee was also a key. Brayden Pals pitched the first four innings, allowing five runs – only one was earned – and five hits. McDevitt relieved in the fourth and Lee pitched the seventh. Neither allowed a hit. McDevitt struck out seven in his three innings for work and Lee struck out all three batters he faced.

The Hearts, now 3-0, will play Thursday at Newton and then open Apollo Conference play at home Saturday against Lincoln.