The Marion Lady Tigers belted four home runs, including two in the decisive sixth inning, to post a 10-7 win Tuesday at Effingham.

The game was a see-saw affair. The Lady Hearts led by four early, then trailed by two, before coming back to tie the game in the fifth. But Marion used the long ball to tally three times in the sixth and secure the win.

EHS took a 5-1 lead in the second inning. Tori Budde led off with a double and Mya Harvey brought her home with a base hit. With one out, Sawyer Althoff walked and Grace Bushur singled to load the bases. Daelyn Dunston and Abby Cunningham both had RBI singles and Sidney Donaldson capped the five-run frame with a two-run single.

Marion came back to take a 7-5, but an RBI double by Harvey and a run-scoring single by Althoff tied the game in the sixth.

Bria Beals took the loss.

The Lady Hearts finished their regular season with a 15-14 record. They will compete in the Class 3A Mt. Vernon Regional. They are seeded fourth and will face the hosts at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Effingham Lady Hearts exploded for seven runs over the final two innings to break open a tie game and roll to a 15-8 victory Wednesday over St. Anthony in Game 1 of the annual City Series.

It wasn’t the prettiest game, especially early. The two teams combined for 12 errors that accounted for 10 unearned runs in the contest.

The Lady Hearts led 8-4 at one time, but SAHS battled back to tie the game with two runs in the fourth and fifth.

In that fifth inning, Lucy Fearday and Maddie Kibler singled to get things started. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and scored when Sydney Kibler delivered a two-run single to knot the game at 8-8.

But Effingham quickly responded in the top of the sixth. With one out, Daelyn Dunston singled, Abby Cunningham walked and Sidney Donaldson drove in a run with a base hit. Tori Budde followed with an RBI double and the third run scored on an error.

The Lady Hearts blew it open in the seventh thanks to the long ball. Sawyer Althoff reached on error and with one out, Grace Bushur smacked the first pitch she saw over the leftfield fence for a two-run homer. Dunston then got her third hit of the game and Abby Cunningham sent a 2-1 pitch over the fence real close to the same spot where Bushur’s landed.

Bushur finished with three hits and three RBI and also scored four runs. Abby Cunningham added a pair of hits, scored three times and drove home four. Cameron Rios had three hits for the Lady Bulldogs.

Saige Althoff went the distance and got the win for EHS. She allowed eight hits and eight runs – with four of them unearned – while walking two and striking out three.

Sidney Kibler took the loss. She relieved in the sixth and allowed six hits and seven runs. She walked one and struck out one. Lucy Fearday was the starter and went the first five innings. She gave up seven hits and eight runs – four of them unearned. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

The Lady Hearts improved to 14-11, while the Lady Bulldogs dropped to 21-4.

The City Series resumes today (Thursday) at Effingham’s field. Game time is 4 p.m.

The series finale will be Friday at Bulldog Field.

It’s never over ‘til it’s over.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes proved that Thursday.

Trailing by three runs heading to the final inning, the Lady Shoes rallied for six runs in the seventh for a come-from-behind 13-10 win at Robinson.

T-Town trailed by five runs twice in the game and were down 10-7 heading into that final inning. But with one out, Daisha Piedra belted a solo homer to get the rally started. Courtney Gibson and Danielle Sarchet followed kwith base hits.

Then with two outs, Summer Wall walked to load the bases. Olivia Copple then had a two-run single to tie the game, Erin Althoff doubled in the two go-ahead runs and Emily Konkel capped the inning with an RBI double.

Robinson had a trio of three-run innings to build leads of 6-1 and 10-5. The Lady Shoes started their push by scoring twice in the sixth. Copple and Althoff had run-scoring singles.

THS finished with 17 hits in the game. Althoff and Piedra both had three of those to go along with three RBI. Copple also drove in three runs with her two hits.

Gibson relieved in the sixth and didn’t allow a hit in her two scoreless innings to gain the win. Jordan Goeckner started and pitched the first five innings.

The Lady Shoes are now 18-7. They will return to action today (Friday) and play at home against Newton.

Saige Althoff turned in two strong pitching performances and Elena Niebrugge drove in five runs in the second game, helping the Effingham Lady Hearts sweep an Apollo Conference doubleheader at home Wednesday from Taylorville.

Althoff pitched a three-hitter in the opener, as the Lady Hearts posted a 3-0 decision. Niebrugge then had two hits, including a home run, and drove in five, helping EHS complete the sweep with a 12-2, five-inning victory in the nightcap.

In the first contest, the Lady Hearts scored single tallies in the first, third and fourth innings. Daelyn Dunston and Sidney Donaldson had RBI groundouts in the first and third and Sawyer Althoff added a run-scoring single in the fourth.

That was all the support Saige Althoff needed. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight in her seven-inning complete game.

There was more offense in the second game. And the Lady Hearts started the scoring with a three-run first inning. Two walks and an error got things started. One run scored on a wild pitch and Niebrugge added a two-out, two-run double to stake EHS to the quick 3-0 lead.

The Lady Tornadoes narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fourth, but Effingham responded in the bottom of the frame. Donaldson and Jennifer Jamison both singled and came home to score on a two-run double by Mya Harvey. Niebrugge followed with her two-run blast to increase the lead to 7-2.

Niebrugge added an RBI ground out as part of the three-run fourth and EHS completed its scoring with two tallies in the fifth.

Saige Althoff went all five innings to get the win. She allowed two hits and two runs. Once again, she didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.

The Lady Hearts are now 13-10 overall and 7-5 in league play. They will play at home again Friday against Flora.