Published on March 26, 2026 8:06 am
Last Updated on March 26, 2026 8:12 am
BY MILLIE LANGE
SALEM — Effingham High School’s softball team is getting Coach Jerry Trigg started on his second 500 victories after edging Salem 10-9 in Wednesday action.
The Hearts pushed ahead 5-1 in the opening quarter and led 6-2 after two innings.
Salem came back, scoring three runs in the third inning and moving into an 8-6 lead in the third.
The Hearts then mounted a comeback, scoring a run in the fifth then tying with a run in the sixth.
They continued on, scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh to lead 10-8. Salem mounted another comeback, but only scored one to fall short in the bottom of the seventh.
It was a hitting night as Effingham had 12 and Salem finished with 13.
Gieah Schlanser finished with a single, a home run and drove in four while Sydney Cunningham had two singles, a double and two RBI. Ryley Engel knocked out two doubles and an RBI and Maci Hayes a single, triple and an RBI.
Natalie Armstrong came on in the fifth inning to finish out as the winner on the mound. She gave up one run on two hits, one walk and struck out two.
At Salem
Effingham 510 011 2 — 10-12-3
Salem 113 300 1 — 9-13-1
WP — Armstrong. LP — Sellers.
Effingham — Hayes, single, triple, 1 RBI; Engel, 2 doubles, 1 RBI; Armstrong, single; Schlanser, single, home run, 4 RBI; Hartmann, single; Cunningham, 2 singles, double, 2 RBI; Maxedon, single, 1 RBI
Salem — Sellers, double; Keller, 2 doubles, 1 RBI; Johnson, 3 singles, 3 RBI; Decker, 4 singles, 2 RBI; Rasul, single; Lipe, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Cripps, 1 RBI
At Farina
South Central put together 12 runs in the second inning and blanked Cisne by a 15-0 count in four innings Wednesday.
The Cougars finished with 10 hits while Kinlee Thompson held Cisne to two hits. She gave up only one walk and struck out six.
Meanwhile, South Central finished with two home runs. Maddie Peddicord and Thompson had a home run and two RBI each. Emmie Ruholl hit a double, triple and had three RBI, Amelia Montes finished with two singles and an RBI and Annie Ruholl an RBI.
At Farina
Cisne 0 0 0 0 — 0- 2-2
South Central 0(12)0 3 — 15-10-1
WP — Thompson. LP — Dickey.
Cisne — Porter, single; Block, single
South Central — Peddicord, home run, 2 RBI; Montes, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Reid, single, double, 1 RBI; Thompson, home run, 2 RBI; Johnson, single; Feldhake, single; Ruholl, double, triple, 3 RBI; Ruholl, 1 RBI
At Arcola
Kendra Hayes had quite a game for Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg Wednesday.
Hayes worked on the mound, going the four innings, giving up one hit, one walk while striking out nine.
Meanwhile the Hatchets finished with 19 hits and Hayes had four of those that included two singles, a triple and a home run. She finished with six RBI.
Windsor/Stew-Stras blanked Arcola by a 21-0 count in four innings.
Other big offensive players were Clarissa Johnson with two singles, a triple and two RBI, Makenna Corrie with two doubles and two RBI, Mya Friese with two singles, a double and an RBI, Arora Rincker with two singles and three RBI and Maddie Clark with two singles and two RBI.
Cameron Carey added two singles while Kalia Friese had a single and two RBI and Claire Holland an RBI.
At Arcola
Windsor/Stew-Stras 30 (10) 8 — 21-19-0
Arcola 00 0 0 — 0- 1-3
WP — Hayes. LP — Cooper.
Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg — M. Friese, 2 singles, double, 1 RBI; Carey, 2 singles; Hayes, 2 singles, triple, home run, 6 RBI; Corrie, 2 doubles, 2 RBI; Johnson, 2 singles, triple, 2 RBI; K. Friese, single, 2 RBI; Holland, 1 RBI; Rincker, 2 singles, 3 RBI; Clark, 2 singles, 2 RBI
Arcola — Pilkington, single
At Toledo
Cumberland moved into a 2-0 opening inning lead, unfortunately that didn’t last long as Richland County, Olney scored in five innings for a 15-6 victory Wednesday.
The Tigers pulled within 2-1 in the second then moved ahead 4-2 with three in the third. They added on three in the fourth and had four-run innings in the fifth and seventh.
Ava Long had half of the Pirates six hits. She finished with two singles, a double and three RBI. Kada Miles added two singles and Ashton Tolen had a single. Mia Holsapple finished with an RBI.
Olney had eight players with a hit each, five of those were doubles.
At Toledo
Richland Co. 013 340 4 — 15-8-1
Cumberland 200 031 0 — 6-6-4
WP — Wilson. LP — Holsapple.
Richland County — Donty, 2 RBI; Williams, double, 1 RBI; Bloomer, single, 1 RBI; Gwyen, double; Sessengood, single, 1 RBI; Knox, single; McGlaughlin, double, 2 RBI; Bryan, double, 3 RBI; Hines, double, 2 RBI
Cumberland — Tolen, single; Miles, 2 singles; Long, 2 singles, double, 3 RBI; Miller, 2 RBI; Holsapple, 1 RBI