The Effingham Lady Hearts only scored in one inning Thursday afternoon, but that was more than enough for Saige Althoff.

The junior righthander allowed just five baserunners and none of them crossed the plate. And when the Lady Hearts pushed across three runs in the sixth inning, that proved to be decisive, as Effingham finished with a 3-0 victory at Edwardsville.

Althoff gave up two walks and singles in the third, fifth and seventh in her seven-inning performance. She also struck out eight.

The game was scoreless when EHS came to bat in the top of the sixth. Up to that point, the Lady Hearts had just one hit – a first-inning single by Jerzi Bierman.

But that changed in the sixth. Alyssa Martin, Raegan Boone and Bierman all singled to load the bases with no outs. Sidney Donaldson and Natalie Armstrong then delivered RBI singles and Mya Harvey had a sacrifice fly to put the Lady Hearts on top and provide all the support Althoff needed.

Effingham has now won 7 of its last 8 games and improved to 10-5 on the season. The Lady Hearts will return home Monday to play Teutopolis.