Softball Game Preview: Effingham Hearts vs. Taylorville Tornadoes

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Previous Games

05/01/24 - Home	13-1 W
05/01/24 - Home	9-0 W
05/03/23 - Away	12-2 W
05/03/23 - Away	11-0 W
05/04/22 - Home	12-2 W
+ 5 more games

Effingham is a perfect 10-0 against Taylorville since May of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Hearts will take on the Tornadoes at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Effingham has three straight victories, Taylorville has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Effingham gave up the first runs on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Charleston 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Hearts have posted since April 12th.

Ryley Engel was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Alyssa Martin, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Effingham was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .412. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Meanwhile, Taylorville didn't have quite enough to beat Springfield on Monday and fell 4-3.

Effingham pushed their record up to 12-6 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Taylorville, their loss dropped their record down to 2-15.

Everything went Effingham's way against Taylorville when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Effingham made off with a 13-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hearts since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.