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
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.
The Effingham Lady Hearts banged out 32 hits and scored 29 runs Tuesday and posted a doubleheader sweep at Taylorville.
Effingham scored in every inning in the opener, en route to a 12-5 win.
Then in the nightcap, the Lady Hearts erupted for 13 runs in the fifth inning and finished with a 17-0 shutout.
In the first game, Grace Bushur and Emma Hardiek both had three hits to pace the 15-hit attack. Hardiek and Jacy Boatman both had three RBI and Riley Cunningham belted a solo home run.
EHS grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bushur led off with a base hit and then with two outs, Hardiek and Boatman had back-to-back RBI doubles. Cunningham’s homer came as part of a three-run second.
The Lady Hearts then scored a run in the third and tacked on two more in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Jaidi Davis pitched the first four innings to get the win. She gave up five hits and three runs, while walking three and striking out six.
Effingham led 4-0 in the second game and then exploded for 13 runs in the fifth. The Lady Hearts sent 17 batters to the plate. They had 11 hits in the inning, along with a walk and two errors.
Boatman had three hits in the game to lead the 17-hit attack. Sawyer Althoff, Davis, Taylor Armstrong and Raegan Boone each had two hits. Davis drove in three runs, while Bushur, Jennifer Jamison, Althoff, Elena Niebrugge, Boatman and Armstrong each had two RBI.
Cunningham turned in a strong pitching performance, throwing a one-hitter over five innings. She walked four and struck out six.
The Lady Hearts improved to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will now play St. Anthony in the annual City Series today (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday. They will host those games today and Friday and play at St. Anthony Thursday. Game time is 4 p.m. each day.
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.”
Ashlynn McPeak belted a three-run homer and Karah Moore made that stand up, as the Charleston Lady Trojans posted a 4-3 win at home Saturday in the opening game of a softball doubleheader with Effingham.
The Lady Trojans went deep three more times in the nightcap and completed the sweep of the twin-bill with a 14-10 decision.
In the first game, back-to-back-to-back singles by Tori Budde, Riley Cunningham and Abby Cunningham accounted for a run and tied the score at 1-1 in the second inning.
But in the bottom of the second, Charleston received two walks and then McPeak delivered a two-out blast that cleared the leftfield fence and put the hosts on top to stay, 4-1.
The Lady Hearts closed to within one run in the third. Jaidi Davis walked and Emma Hardiek sent a pitch over the centerfield fence for a two-run homer.
But Moore then set down 12 of the final 13 batters to secure the win. Effingham’s only base runner in the final four innings came when Sawyer Althoff had a one-out double in the fifth.
Davis pitched all six innings and took the loss. He allowed seven hits and four runs, while walking four and striking out eight.
The second game proved to be a slug-fest as the two teams combined for six home runs, 24 total runs and 25 hits.
After Reagan McGahey’s three-run homer in the second, Charleston owned a 5-1 lead. But the Lady Hearts responded with a five-run third.
Grace Bushur led off with a base hit and Althoff reached base on a dropped third strike. Davis drove in the first run with a ground ball and the second run scored on an error. Tori Budde then belted a two-run homer and Riley Cunningham made it back-to-back-jacks with a solo shot to give EHS a 6-5 lead.
The Lady Trojans scored three runs in the bottom of the third, but Effingham came right back with three of its own. Budde had a two-run single in that inning.
Charleston responded again, putting up three runs in the fourth, two more in the fifth and tacked one more on the board in the sixth.
Davis relieved in the fourth and took the loss. Taylor Armstrong pitched the first three innings.
The Lady Hearts dropped to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will play Tuesday at Taylorville.
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