Published on May 14, 2026 8:03 am
Last Updated on May 14, 2026 8:03 am
Effingham St. Anthony opened the City Softball Series with a 6-4 victory over Effingham Wednesday.
The Hearts were the first team to score, however. Maci Hayes singled to start the first inning. A fly ball out was put on the board and Natalie Armstrong followed with a single. Hayes attempted to steal third and the throw attempt to catch her went over the third baseman and Hayes scored on the catcher’s attempt.
EHS pushed its lead to 2-0 in the top of the second. Sydney Cunningham drew a walk and Molly Maxedon followed with a single. A sacrifice by Olivia Koester pushed the runners over a base. Hayes then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Cunningham.
St. Anthony didn’t stay down long. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Lily Hardiek and Claire Kinkelaar hit back-to-back singles. Lilly Gannaway then cleared the bases with a triple and the Bulldogs had tied the game at 2-2.
The Hearts came back to move ahead 3-2 in the third on a solo homer by Keagyn Koenig.
But, once again, that lead went by the wayside. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the bottom of the third for a 5-2 lead. Julia Schultz led off the frame with a double and took third on a wild pitch. Emeline Wines doubled Schultz home. With one out, Nancy Ruholl drew a walk to load the bases. A sacrifice by Schumaher pushed across a run and by the end of the inning, the Bulldogs led 5-3.
In the fourth, EHS tallied a single run as Cunningham and Maxedon had back-to-back singles. A sacrifice pushed the runners over. With two outs, Ryley Engel followed with a single that scored Cunningham and the Hearts were within 5-4.
But the Bulldogs continued to dent the plate, scoring a single run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Jackie Vonderheide singled and moved to second on an error. She came home on a double by Schultz.
And that’s where the scoring ended for the game. The Hearts had runners on in the fifth and sixth but couldn’t bring them home.
The City Series continues today at 4 p.m. with the second contest that can be heard on KJ Country 102.3.
City Series
Effingham 111 100 — 4- 8-2
St. Anthony 023 100 — 6-10-1
WP — Ruholl. LP — Armstrong.
Effingham — Hayes, single; Engel, single, 1 RBI; Armstrong, 2 singles; Koenig, home run, 1 RBI; Cunningham, single; Maxedon, 2 singles
St. Anthony — Gannaway, triple, 2 RBI; Vonderheide, 2 singles; Schultz, single, 2 doubles; Wines, double, 1 RBI; Schumacher, single, 1 RBI; Hardiek, single; Kinkelaar, single