It was a seven-run second inning that put the Lady Hearts in control of the contest.
Mya Harvey led off with a base hit and went to third on a single by Maci Hayes. Harvey scored when Hayes stole second. Alyssa Martin followed with a base hit up the middle that drove in Hayes. Madi Kirk then walked and Jerzi Bierman blooped a single to load the bases.
Engel, who had four RBI in Wednesday’s 10-5 City Series opener, followed with a line drive into the left-centerfield gap that drove in two runs. Donaldson then capped the inning with a drive that cleared the centerfield fence, giving the Lady Hearts a 7-0 advantage.
“Getting ahead early is always a key,” Trigg said. “We’ve got a good lineup with solid hitting from top to bottom. We even have a couple good hitters that come off the bench. We just want to keep rolling. We’re going to see some good pitching in the postseason.”
The Lady Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second when Nancy Ruholl came though with a two-out run-scoring single.
Effingham scored two unearned runs in the third and then wrapped it up with a three-run fifth. Hayes, Martin and Kirk all singled to load the bases, and with two outs, Engel delivered again, smacking a double and driving in all three runners. That gave her nine RBI in the two games.
Julia Schultz drove in a run with a double in the bottom of the fifth to account for St. Anthony’s final tally.
Armstrong pitched all five innings. She allowed two runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out seven.
“This was one of Natalie’s best games of the year,” Trigg noted. “She really hit her spots and did a good job keeping them off-balance.”
The Lady Bulldogs dipped to 12-13 on the season.
The Lady Hearts are now 22-6. They also own a 15-10 advantage overall in the City Series, which began in 1999.
“You always want to win this and be considered the best team in town,” Trigg said. “But more than anything, this is the time of year you want to be playing good ball. This series had a post-season feel and I thought we handled it well.”
