EHS Advances In 3A Regional, WSS Heads To Sectional Championship

Effingham High School blanked Taylorville 7-0 in its own Class 3A Softball Regional Tuesday.

The two teams battled through three innings as Tornadoes pitcher Megan Behl went through those innings throwing perfect ball. But, on the opposite mound, Effingham's Aly Armstrong was throwing a gem of her own. Armstrong was on a strikeout run and Taylorville batters never did get untracked.

Armstrong went through all seven innings without allowing a walk and ended up with a whopping 16 strikeouts.

The Hearts broke the game wide open in the fourth. Carsyn Fearday led off the inning with a base hit and stole second. Lauryn Douthit then singled with a bunt. Skyler Schafer made it on base with a fielder's choice but the Tornadoes didn't get an out and had an error that scored Fearday.

With one out, Armstrong reached base on another fielder's choice that the Tornadoes muffed and the bases were loaded. Alissa Kersey hit a sacrifice fly that scored a run. Emma Budde singled home two runs. Jaelyn Boone followed with a single that scored Budde. Chloe Funneman then singled home Boone and came home on a Fearday single. When the dust had cleared, the Hearts had moved ahead 7-0.

Fearday finished with two singles and an RBI to lead the Hearts offensively.

The Hearts improved to 18-9 on the season and will now face Charleston for the regional championship.

Charleston defeated Decatur Eisenhower 10-0. The Trojans had a three-run second then tacked on six more in the fourth and one to end the game in the fifth.

The Trojans had 14 hits led by Jenna Durham with three singles, a triple and an RBI, Kaitlyn Coffey with two doubles and an RBI. Macey McElroy with a single, double and an RBI, Haleigh Misner with a triple and two RBI and Lauren Spour with a solo home run.

Effingham met the Trojans twice this season dropping both games. The two squads will square for the championship with a date yet to be decided. The winner advances to the Chatham Glenwood Sectional Tuesday, May 30 for a 6:30 p.m. contest.

Effingham Regional

Taylorville              000    000    0    --    0-2-2

Effingham              000    700    x    --    7-6-0

WP -- Amrstrong. LP -- Behl.

Taylorville -- Shull, single; Larson, double

Effingham -- Fearday, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Douthit, single; Schafer, 1 RBI; Kersey, 1 RBI; Budde, single, 2 RBI; Boone, single, 1 RBI; Funneman, single

Class 1A Bethany Okaw Valley Sectional

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg advanced to the championship game of the Bethany Okaw Valley Sectional with a victory Tuesday.

The Hatchets pounded Central A&M 10-0 in six innings.  WSS tallied four runs in the third inning then had two-run innings through the next three to end the game via the 10-run rule in the sixth.

Calla Roney picked up the pitching win to improve to 12-1 on the season. Roney allowed one hit, one walk and struck out seven.

Mackenzi Tabbert had three singles while Roney had two singles and two RBI, Carson Cole two singles and an RBI and Megan Schlechte two singles and an RBI. Madison Everett had two singles and two RBI.

The Hatchets won their first-ever regional as a co-op and have now gone farther than they've ever gone, moving into the sectional championship. WSS improved to 28-4 on the season.

In the opening game, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond defeated Cumberland 9-5.

ALAH tallied four runs in the first inning but Cumberland pulled within 4-3 in the second. The Pirates then tied the score in the top of the fourth with a solo shot by Madison Hendrix.

But ALAH came roaring back with a five-run bottom of the fourth inning and tallied a final run in the seventh. Cumberland had the bases loaded in the seventh but couldn't get a run across.

The Pirates finished the season with an 18-10 record.

ALAH (21-3) will now take on Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional championship.

Class 1A Bethany Okaw Valley Sectional

Game One

Cumberland             030    110    0    --    5- 7-4

ALAH                       400    500    x    --    9-10-1

WP -- Frederick. LP -- Dunaway.

Cumberland -- Oakley, single; Dunaway, single; Hendrix, double, home run, 1 RBI; Bradley, double; Green, single, 1 RBI; McMechan, single, 2 RBI

Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond -- Herschberger, single; Miller, home run, 2 RBI; Miller, single, double, 1 RBI; Corum, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Powell, 2 singles; Frederick, double; Comstock, double

Game Two

Central A&M                          000    000    0    --      0-  1-3

Windsor/Stew-Stras             004     222    x    --    10-13-0

WP -- Roney. LP -- Dunn.

Central A&M -- Dunn, double

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg -- Cole, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Schlechte, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Tabbert, 3 singles; Roney, 2 singles, 2 RBI; Rentfro, single, 1 RBI; Everett, 2 singles, 2 RBI; Reynolds, single, 1 RBI