The Effingham Lady Hearts blasted four home runs in the first two innings Friday and went on to post their seventh straight victory, an 11-0, five-inning decision at Flora.
Torri Budde went deep twice and drove in five runs in the game, while Emma Hardiek belted a three-run homer and Jaidi Davis added a two-run shot.
And it started early.
Grace Bushur singled to start the game, stole second and third base and scored on an error. Sawyer Althoff and Davis both walked ahead of Hardiek’s three-run blast to make it 4-0 after just four batters. Taylor Armstrong then walked and Budde slammed a two-run homer over the centerfield fence to stake the Lady Hearts to a 6-0 lead.
But they weren’t finished.
Davis got into the long-ball barrage after Althoff walked in the second inning. Then with two outs, Armstrong singled and Budde followed with her second round-tripper, this time over the rightfield fence, to make it 10-0.
Budde collected her fifth RBI in the fifth. Her base hit drove in Armstrong, who had ripped a double.
That run support was more than enough for Davis. She pitched 4.1 innings of no-hit, shutout softball. She walked just one and struck out six. Armstrong recorded the final two outs, but did give up a single.
The Lady Hearts are now 7-1. They will play today (Saturday) at Charleston.