Luke Darling smacked a two-run homer in the first inning and that proved to be enough offensive support, as the Highland Bulldogs posted a 6-1 win Tuesday afternoon in Effingham.
The Hearts scored a single tally in the bottom of the first, but that was all the runs they had. They finished with just four hits in the game.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the third and tallied twice in the fourth.
EHS got its run when Kaiden Nichols led off with a single and Gauge Massey was hit by a pitch. Nichols eventually scored on a ground out by Quest Hull.
Brayden Pals pitched the first three innings and took the loss. He allowed five hits and four runs, while walking three and striking out three.
The Hearts dipped to 14-12. They will travel to Bethalto and face Civic Memorial on Friday.
Pitching and defense, alone, will keep teams in a baseball game.
Throw in some timely hitting and that team becomes very difficult to beat.
The Effingham Hearts have proven that the last two nights.
After Josh McDevitt threw a two-hit shutout Wednesday, Quest Hull turned in another outstanding pitching performance Thursday.
That pitching, plus John Harper’s two-run homer and catcher Joe Matteson throwing out three runners proved to be a winning combination, helping the Hearts to a 6-2 win over St. Anthony and the championship of the annual City Series.
“This is exciting for those guys on the field,” EHS coach Curran McNeely said. “They’ve worked their tails off. This is something they’ll never forget.”
The Hearts, who were swept in last year’s series, will try to return the favor when the two teams meet in Game 3 tonight (Friday) at Paul Smith Field. Game time is 7 p.m. The City Series began in 1981.
Once again, it was the pitching that set the tone for Effingham. Hull scattered four hits and allowed just single tallies in the fifth and seventh. He walked six and struck out six in his 104-pitch performance.
It took a while for Effingham’s bats to come alive, but when they did, the hits and runs quickly piled up.
The Hearts collected 8 of their 11 hits and scored all 10 of their runs over the final three innings Tuesday and came home with a 10-3 victory over Taylorville.
The host Tornadoes held a 3-0 lead when EHS came to bat in the fifth. A two-out RBI single by Evan Waymoth got the Hearts on the scoreboard and the comeback was started.
Effingham took the lead with a three-run sixth. John Harper singled and then with two outs, Max Hardiek lined an RBI double and Joe Matteson followed with a two-run blast that sailed over the rightfield fence.
The Hearts then put the game away by pushing six runs across in the seventh. Kaiden Nichols walked, Harper singled and Quest Hull was hit by a pitch to load the bases. One run scored on a wild pitch and Hardiek delivered a two-run single. After Matteson and Camden Raddatz walked to load the bases again, EHS scored a run on an error and Gauge Massey capped the inning with a two-run single.
Raddatz, the third pitcher of the day for Effingham, relieved in the fifth and got the win. He pitched two innings of scoreless baseball. He didn’t allow a hit, while walking two and striking out two.
The Hearts improved to 12-10 on the season overall and finished Apollo Conference play with a 5-6 record. They will now play in the annual City Series. They will face St. Anthony today (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday. The games Wednesday and Friday will be played at Paul Smith Field in Community Park and Thursday’s contest will be at Evergreen Hollow Park. Game time each day is 7 p.m.
Josh McDevitt turned in a dominating pitching performance Wednesday, leading the Effingham Hearts to a 4-0 victory over St. Anthony in the opening game of the annual City Series, played at Paul Smith Field.
The junior righthander allowed just two hits and two walks in his 106-pitch performance. He also struck out six.
“That’s one of the better games he’s pitched,” EHS coach Curran McNeely said. “He trusted his defense and battled when he had to. When he’s around the plate with all three of his pitches and trusts the guys behind him, he’s usually going to go six or seven good innings. I’ve very proud of his effort tonight.”
The Hearts scored what proved to be the winning run in the opening inning. Kaiden Nichols reached on an error, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when John Harper grounded a base hit to rightfield.
“That early run was huge,” McNeely admitted. “We had to work hard to manufacture that run. John put a good swing on it and got the ball through the infield.”
After that, McDevitt and St. Anthony’s Eli Levitt locked up in a good pitcher’s duel. It stayed 1-0 until the Hearts came to bat in the sixth.
Gauge Massey and Harper singled and Quest Hull followed with a base hit up the middle that brought in Massey and sent Harper to third. Max Hardiek’s ground ball brought home the second run and the final tally scored on an error.
Quest Hull went 5-for-5, including a solo home run, and Josh McDevitt didn’t allow a hit in six innings of work, leading the Effingham Hearts to a 13-4 win Saturday at Charleston in the opening game of an Apollo Conference doubleheader.
The Trojans bounced back to take the second game by a close score of 3-2 to earn a split.
Hull had four singles to go along with his fifth-inning home run and drove in three runs to lead an EHS attack that featured 18 hits. John Harper also belted a home run, had three total hits and drove in three.
The Hearts jumped out on top, 2-0, in the opening inning. Kaiden Nichols reached on an error and Gauge Massey singled. With two outs, Hull and Max Hardiek had back-to-back RBI singles.
It stayed 2-0 until the fifth. Massey singled and Harper smacked a two-run homer over the centerfield fence. One out later, Hull went deep to increase the Effingham lead to 5-0.
Camden Raddatz had an RBI double and Hull added a run-scoring single to increase the margin to 7-0 in the sixth.
McDevitt was outstanding in his 106-pitch effort that lasted six innings. He didn’t allow a hit and struck out 15. Charleston finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, combining two walks, a hit batter and an error that actually resulted in all three tallies being unearned.
Page 6 of 11
