“Our approach was the same it has been all year. Be aggressive,” Trigg noted. “We knew she didn’t walk many people, so she was going to be around the plate. We hit the ball pretty hard all day, but a lot of them right at somebody.”

Martin blasted her first home run leading off the third and connected again with one out in the seventh. Both were “no-doubters,” easily clearing the 200-foot fence.

“Alyssa has struggled a few times on defense this year, but she never let that affect her offensively,” Trigg said. “She’s a big-time player.”

The Lady Hearts also got a double by Saige Althoff in the third and singles by Natalie Armstrong and Riley Engel in the fourth.

Unfortunately, the miscues on defense were too much to overcome.

Two EHS errors resulted in runners at second and third with one out in the opening inning, but the next two batters were retired.

In the bottom of the second, Maggie Wolf walked with one out and Aryana Blomenkamp laid down a bunt and beat the throw to first for a single. Kate Whitworth followed with another bunt. After Martin fielded the ball and threw Whitworth out at first, Wolf was caught off third base. The throw to third, however, was high and rolled to the fence, allowing both Wolf and Blomenkamp to race home, putting the Midgets ahead, 2-0.

Two batters later, Lindsey Muskopf singled to center, driving in the third run of the inning.

Freeburg added to its lead with another unearned tally in the fourth. With two outs, Whitworth walked, Olivia Joseph singled and Muskopf’s ground ball was misplayed, allowing Whitworth to score.

Althoff also pitched a very strong game for Effingham. She allowed just five hits and one earned run. She walked two and struck out three.

Even though the season came to an end, Trigg said he was very proud of the girls, describing them as hard workers.

“And they hit the ball like crazy all season,” he added. “I believe there will be at least four different offensive records set by this team. The hitting throughout this lineup has been very solid this year.”

He will say goodbye to Raegan Boone, the lone senior on the team.

“She’s been a great kid for me to coach,” Trigg admitted. “She’s a great teammate and she had a great senior season. I’m pretty sure she set the record for most hits and most stolen bases in a season. She will be hard to replace.”

The Lady Hearts finished their season with a 23-11 record and a regional championship. And since they lose just the one senior, optimism is already high for next year.

“We plan to come back and go even further,” Trigg said. “The best is yet to come for this group.”