Typically, owning an early 5-1 lead results in a win.
That was not the case Saturday.
In the first game, Teutopolis built the four-run lead and it was Effingham’s turn in the second contest.
Neither team ended up winning those respective games.
In the opener, the Lady Hearts rallied for five runs in the final two innings and got a two-out, game-winning, walk-off RBI single from Emma Hardiek to come away with a 6-5 win.
In the nightcap, it was Effingham that built the early four-run cushion only to have the Lady Shoes come storming back. T-Town scored 10 runs over two innings to post a 12-6 decision and salvage a split in the doubleheader.
In that first game, the Lady Shoes seemed to have things well in-hand. Tia Prost was in control on the mound and her teammates had just tallied three times in the top of the sixth to increase the lead to 5-1.
But things changed quickly.
Riley Cunningham led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to get EHS within 5-2. Jaidi Davis then singled and Hardiek followed with a long blast that cleared the leftfield fence to cut the deficit to just one run.
After T-Town failed to score in the top of the seventh, the Lady Hearts went back to work.
Abby Cunningham led off with a double, but it appeared as if the Lady Shoes would get out of the inning when the next two batters were retired. But then Riley Cunningham walked and Davis singled to tie the game, setting the stage for Hardiek to deliver the game-winning hit.
Jaidi Davis allowed just two hits and her teammates provided plenty of support, as the Effingham Lady Hearts posted a 14-0 win Wednesday at Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick.
Davis walked just one and struck out 10 during her 83-pitch shutout performance.
The Lady Hearts scored in six of the seven innings, collected 12 hits and also took advantage of five BCCH errors.
EHS scored single tallies in the first, third and fourth innings, crossed the plate twice in both the second and sixth and then exploded for seven runs in the seventh. The Lady Hearts combined seven hits, a walk, a hit batter and an error in that inning.
Grace Bushur, Natalie Lohman and Taylor Armstrong each had two hits in the game. Armstrong had three RBI.
The Lady Hearts improved to 14-9 on the season. They will be at home Saturday against Teutopolis. Game time is set for 11 a.m.
Emma Hardiek blasted two home runs and Jaidi Davis scattered six hits, helping the Effingham Lady Hearts post a 12-1 Apollo Conference victory Saturday at home against Mt. Zion in the opening game of a doubleheader.
In the nightcap (only the first game counts in the conference standings), the two teams combined for 36 runs and 31 hits, with the Lady Braves coming out on top, 21-15.
In the opener, Effingham held a slim 4-2 lead when it came to bat in the bottom of the fourth. Davis led off with a double and Hardiek followed with the first of her two-run shots. Before the inning was over, Sawyer Althoff added a two-run double to increase the EHS lead to 6-1.
The Lady Hearts then ended the game with a six-run sixth. Abby Cunningham had an RBI single, Althoff drove in a run with a triple, Riley Cunningham added a two-run double and Hardiek then closed things out with a two-run bomb over the leftfield fence.
Davis allowed the six hits and one run, while walking one and striking out five in her 78-pitch performance.
The nightcap was a slugfest. Mt. Zion had 16 hits and Effingham 15.
The Lady Braves exploded for eight runs in the first inning, added five in the second and tacked on three more in the third. But the Lady Hearts did their share of damage, too. They scored five runs in both the first and second, tacked on three more in the third and added a single tally in the fourth and trailed only 16-14.
But Mt. Zion scored two in the sixth and three more in the seventh to secure the win.
Taylor Armstrong had three hits for EHS, while Davis, Hardiek, Abby Cunningham and Jacy Boatman each had two. Hardiek ended the twin-bill with six hits. In the second game, she had a three-run homer in the second and added an RBI triple in the contest, giving her six hits, including three round-trippers, and eight RBI in the two games.
Riley Cunningham was the starter for Effingham and took the loss.
The Lady Hearts are now 13-7 overall and 3-2 in the Apollo Conference. They will play at home Tuesday against Mahomet-Seymour.
Mahomet-Seymour used a pair of long balls to win the opener and then sprayed hits all over the diamond to take the nightcap and sweep a softball doubleheader Tuesday in Effingham.
Aubrie Shore belted a three-run homer to give the Lady Bulldogs a lead and then Karley Yergler blasted a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh to give the Lady Bulldogs a 5-3 win in the first game.
Mahomet-Seymour than banged out 14 hits and somehow managed to offset 10 errors and hang on for a 12-11 decision in the second contest.
Shore’s homer gave the Lady Bulldogs a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but the Lady Hearts battled back to tie.
In the bottom of the third, with two outs, Grace Bushur singled, stole second and scored on a double by Riley Cunnings. In the fourth, again with two outs, Taylor Armstrong walked, Tori Budde singled and both runners scored on a double by Abby Cunningham.
It stayed 3-3 until the seventh when Yergler connected for the game-winning home run.
Jaidi Davis took the loss. She gave up six hits and five runs, while walking two and striking out seven. Yergler got the win. She allowed seven hits and a walk and struck out 11.
EHS trailed throughout in the nightcap. Mahomet-Seymour led 7-2 and then 12-5.
The Lady Hearts cut into the lead in the fourth. Jaidi Davis and Riley Cunningham both had RBI singles and Bushur added a sacrifice fly to get EHS within 7-5.
After the Lady Bulldogs scored five runs in the top of the bottom, Effingham responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame. Two runs scored on errors, one on a double steal, another on a bases-loaded walk to Daelyn Dunston and two were driven home when Bushur doubled.
That got the Lady Hearts to within 12-11, but Yergler then came on to pitch for the Lady Bulldogs. In her two innings of work, she retired all six batters she faced – five by strikeout.
The Lady Hearts are now 13-9 overall and 3-3 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Saturday and play at home against Teutopolis. Game time is set for 11 a.m.
There aren’t many pitchers that throw a no-hitter and get the loss.
But that happened to Jaidi Davis Wednesday afternoon.
The Effingham senior hurler did not allow a hit in seven innings of work. But a couple walks and a costly error allowed Mt. Vernon to score two unearned runs in the fifth.
And that’s all Lady Rams pitcher Lauren Little needed.
She did allow five hits, but struck out 13, helping Mt. Vernon get a 2-0 victory on the road.
Davis did walk four and struck out nine while throwing 101 pitches.
For the Lady Hearts, Davis had a two-out double in the first; Jacy Boatman a lead-off single in the second; Sawyer Althoff and Davis both singled in the sixth; and Tori Budde had a two-out base hit in the seventh.
The Lady Hearts are now 12-6 overall. They are scheduled to play an Apollo Conference game at home Saturday against. Mt. Zion.
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