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.

The Effingham Lady Hearts competed in the Robinson Invitational Saturday and won two of their three games.

EHS opened with an 11-2 win over Fairfield and added an 11-6 victory over Robinson, before losing 10-5 to Newton.

Against Fairfield, Riley Cunningham belted a home run and drove in three runs and Grace Bushur went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

The Lady Hearts took control with a seven-run first. Bushur led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Riley Cunningham. Abby Cunningham then singled and Sidney Donaldson walked to load the bases. An error allowed two runs to score and Jennifer Jamison’s ground out brought home another run. Saige Althoff and Bushur added run-scoring singles to cap the inning.

Riley Cunningham smacked a two-run homer in the third.

Bria Beals relieved in the second inning and pitched the final five innings to get the win.

EHS banged out 12 hits against Robinson and took advantage of five errors.

The Lady Hearts trailed 5-3 after the third inning, but then scored three times in the fourth and fifth and added two more tallies in the sixth. Their three runs in the third scored due to an error and a wild pitch. In the fifth, Saige Althoff and Bushur both had RBI singles and the third run scored on an error.

Saige Althoff went all seven innings to get the win. She allowed 11 hits and six runs, while walking four and striking out four.

In the final game, Newton had seven hits, but used 10 walks to help get the win. The Lady Eagles held a slim 6-5 lead in the sixth, but used four walks, an error and four wild pitches to score four times.

Saige Althoff took the loss.

The Lady Hearts are now 11-10 overall. They will play at home Wednesday against Taylorville. It will be an Apollo Conference doubleheader.

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.

Grace Bushur and Riley Cunningham had key two-out hits in a big fourth inning and Saige Althoff scattered six hits over seven innings, leading the Effingham Lady Hearts to a 7-1 win at home Friday over Charleston in the opening game of an Apollo Conference doubleheader.

The Lady Trojans bounced back in the nightcap, exploding for eight fifth-inning runs, en route to a 9-4 win and a split in the DH.

In the opener, Effingham had single tallies in the first and third and then broke the game open in the fourth. Jennifer Jamison and Tori Budde singled and Saige Althoff walked to load the bases with no outs. They were still there with two outs when Bushur ripped a double, bringing all three runners home. Riley Cunningham followed with a two-run blast over the centerfield fence to cap the five-run frame.

Saige Althoff went all seven innings, allowing just six hits and one unearned run. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.

The Lady Hearts held a 1-0 lead when Charleston came to bat in the fifth. The Lady Trojans had only two hits in the inning, but took advantage of five walks, two hit batters and an error to push eight runs across the plate.

Abby Cunningham had an RBI double for EHS in the third and Sawyer Althoff drove in a run with a base hit in the sixth. In the seventh, Bushur led off with a double and Riley Cunningham followed with her second home run of the day, a two-run shot over the leftfield fence.

Saige Althoff took the loss, working the first 4.1 innings. Riley Cunningham pitched the rest of the way.

The Lady Hearts are now 9-9 overall and 5-5 in league play. They will play today (Saturday) in the Robinson Softball Invitational.