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.
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.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For the second game in a row, the Effingham Lady Hearts used a big inning to take a sizeable lead.
For the second game in a row, that proved to be enough.
And for the sixth year in a row, the Lady Hearts are champions of the annual City Series.
They clinched that with a 12-4 victory Thursday afternoon at Bulldog Field.
In Wednesday’s opener, it was a five-run third that sparked a 7-3 victory.
On Thursday, it was a six-run second that set the tone.
The Lady Hearts banged out five hits in that inning. Taylor Armstrong got it started with a base hit up the middle, followed by a walk to Tori Budde. Riley Cunningham then laid down a bunt, but reached base when St. Anthony catcher Maddie Kibler tripped over a teammate when attempting the throw to first. That loaded the bases with no outs.
Abby Cunningham got EHS on the scoreboard with a base hit to right field and Grace Bushur followed with a fly ball that brought home the second run. Jaidi Davis lined an RBI single to center and Emma Hardiek capped the inning with a long, three-run homer that sailed over the left-centerfield fence.
Riley Cunningham and Jaidi Davis blasted home runs, leading the Effingham Lady Hearts to a 10-6 victory Saturday at Mattoon and a split in the Apollo Conference doubleheader.
Raven Morrison tossed a one-hitter and Xylia Greeson homered, helping the Lady Green Wave post a 10-0 win in the opener.
In that second game, Mattoon grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first. But the Lady Hearts quickly responded.
Emma Hardiek had an RBI double to get EHS on the board in the bottom of the first and Effingham then took the lead with a four-run second.
With two outs, Abby Cunningham got things started by reaching on an error. Daelyn Dunston walked and Grace Bushur tied the game with an RBI single. Riley Cunningham then walked to load the bases. Davis drove in two with a double and the fourth run scored on an error.
Mattoon closed to within 5-3 before Effingham broke the game open with a five-run fifth and used back-to-back long balls to do so. Riley Cunningham blasted a two-run homer and Davis followed with a solo shot to put the Lady Hearts on top by seven runs, 10-3.
Riley Cunningham went all seven innings to get the win. She allowed eight hits and six runs, while walking three and striking out one.
The opener was all Morrison. She only gave up one hit – a fifth-inning single by Riley Cunningham – and allowed just three runners to reach base. She walked one and struck out 12, including 8 in a row during one stretch.
And she received plenty of run support.
The Lady Green Wave struck for six runs in the second, capped by a three-run homer off the bat of Greeson. They added three more runs in the third and a final tally in the fifth.
Davis was the starter for Effingham. She allowed 11 hits and 10 runs – only three were earned – while walking three and striking out three.
The Lady Hearts are now 12-5 overall and 2-2 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Wednesday with a home game against Mt. Vernon.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Hitting is contagious.
Ask any baseball or softball coach and they will tell you the same thing.
Once a team gets a hit or two, the following batters want to keep the momentum going.
Such was the case Wednesday afternoon in the opening game of the annual City Series.
Grace Bushur delivered arguably the most important hit of the game. Yes, it was a two-out RBI double that tied the game in the third inning.
But it was also the first hit for Effingham and it seemed to ignite the rest of the team and set the stage for what followed in the next inning when the Lady Hearts strung together six more hits and scored five runs to take control, en route to a 7-3 victory over St. Anthony.
“That hit by Grace was the big one,” said EHS coach Jerry Trigg. “We seemed to relax after that. We’ve got good hitters and they started hitting the ball hard. Hitting is contagious.”
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