The Effingham Hearts will take on the Hutsonville/Palestine Tigers at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hutsonville/Palestine will be up against a hot Effingham team: the squad just extended their winning streak to seven. The Hearts never let Pinckneyville get on the board and left with a 10-0 win on Friday.
Saige Althoff made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and three runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Keagyn Koenig, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Ryley Engel was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run.
Effingham was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .480. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in six consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, Hutsonville/Palestine made sure to put some runs up on the board against Martinsville on Thursday. The Tigers put the hurt on the Bluestreaks with a sharp 15-6 victory.
Like Effingham, Hutsonville/Palestine also got a great game from a two-way player: Hayden Monan. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off seven hits. Monan was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
In other batting news, Brynn Griffin was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and four runs. Another player making a difference was Lily Holcomb, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Hutsonville/Palestine is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Effingham, their victory bumped their record up to 16-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Effingham has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hutsonville/Palestine struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Effingham's way against Hutsonville/Palestine in their previous matchup back in April of 2018, as Effingham made off with a 13-0 win. Will the Hearts repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
