Hearts Set For Final Four Class 3A State Baseball Journey

Effingham High School is a member of the Class 3A State Tournament field.

Effingham High School's baseball itinerary is set.

The Hearts will depart from Effingham High School Thursday at 9 a.m. There will be a team sendoff with police from Grove to Henrietta to Keller Drive I57 on ramp by Hobby Lobby. Everyone is invited to come out and cheer on the baseball team as they head to the Class 3A State Baseball Tournament at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet.

This will be the first time since 1942 that any EHS baseball team has competed at State. EHS won the Olney Regional, the Centralia Sectional and the Decatur Super-Sectional under Coach Curran McNeely.

The team sports a 22-15 record but at the start of the season, the record looked a lot more dismal. EHS lost their first three ballgames. By April 26, the Hearts held an 8-11 record. But everything started to come together and EHS went on a seven-game winning streak from April 29 to May 10. At the end of the season, EHS again got untracked with a six-game winning streak right through the regional, sectional and super-sectional.

"When we hit the .500 mark with our record, we really kept preaching to the kids to find a way to get our record back even," said Coach McNeely. "I had a feeling we would take off. Sure we continued to struggle at times but we continued to get better and better every week."

The Hearts starting lineup includes senior Jack Harper, sophomore Kaden Koeberlein, junior Camden Raddatz, senior Quest Hull, senior Myles Maxedon, senior Evan Waymoth, junior Spencer Fox, junior Kaiden Nichols and senior Josh McDevitt.

"Jack has been a consistent bat in our order all year," said McNeely. "He has recently moved to the leadoff spot and really provided us with a spark. Filled in nicely this year at the shortstop position and provided us with quality innings out of the bullpen.

"Kaden has done a great job as a sophomore in consistently being a contact hitter and not trying to do too much. He has done an exceptional job in the outfield along with providing good quality starts on the mound when needed.

"Camden started off slow this season but has progressively gotten better as the season has gone on. He had a walk-off base hit in the first regional game against Charleston.

"Quest has been a varsity starter for three years. He has done a great job as our cleanup hitter. He had two big home runs against Charleston in conference play that ended up being the game winning hits.

"I thought Myles would be our every day second baseman but with changes, he has become our every day catcher. He has done a fantastic job behind the plate in handling our pitching staff this year.

"Evan started the season at first and ended up becoming our every day third basemen . He has provided us with a spark down in the bottom of our order. He does a great job in being a tough out and finding a way to reach base.

"Spencer has played multiple roles for us this year. At times he has caught, played the outfield and been our designated hitter. He is an extremely hard worker and is an all-around team player.

"Kaiden embraced the nine hole this year and played outfield along with being our number two pitcher on the mound. He is what you want in a nine hole hitter. He will play small ball when needed and is really like a second lead-off man.

"Josh has been our No. 1 pitcher all season. He is our go-to guy on the mound and has done a great job all season. He is a three-year varsity player and has consistently gotten better with being in the zone with all three pitches.

"Colton Webb, a sophomore, has embraced his role at first and become our every day first baseman. He has done a good job handling the bat for a sophomore and provided us with another arm out of the bullpen when needed."

Other members of the Hearts include seniors Colton Loy and Andrew Donaldson; juniors Braxton Lewis and Braden Verdeyen and sophomores Ethan Jones, Max Seachrist, Peter Rosen and Marcus Banning.

"Collectively, we have a number of other guys who have accepted multiple roles throughout the season. Whatever the challenge may be, we have 18 guys that step up to the plate and accept whatever task they are met with."

The Hearts will square off against Grayslake Central, a team that sports a 32-7 record. Grayslake Central started the season with a 2-3 record before going on a 20-game winning streak. They finished off the season by winning the Vernon Hills Regional, the Grayslake Central Sectional and the Schaumburg Super-Sectional.

Coach Troy Whalen has been the head coach for 20 years and has taken Grayslake Central to State three times with two third place finishes and the last time in 2014 with a fourth place finish.

The Rams are a senior-laden squad with 17 on the team along with 13 juniors and one sophomore. Jack Gerbasi is the leading hitter with a .409 average. He had three doubles, four triples and three home runs. Cal Hanson is at .389, Brendan Kirkner at .385, Jerry Miller at .372, Nolan Mussay at .354 and Chris Rogers at .353.

The pitching staff includes 13 players. Rogers is the main starter with an 8-1 record and a 1.33 ERA. Schufreider sports an 8-2 mark with a 1.92 ERA. Colin Kornit has a 6-1 record and a 2.08 ERA.

Coach McNeely talked about what they hope to do at State.

"We just need to play the style of baseball that we have been the last three weeks. We want to continue to give good quality at bats, limit mistakes on the field and our pitchers continue to pound the zone and force their hitters to put balls in play. Our No. 1 goal is to win the state title."

Assistant coaches for the Hearts include Kyle Bourgeois, Deonte King and Justin Hayes.

"Kyle is our varsity assistant and works with our catchers and pitchers," said McNeely. "This is his fourth year coaching high school. Deonte is our head junior varsity coach. This is his second year. He helps with outfielders and hitters when he's with the varsity program. Justin is a junior varsity assistant and this is his first year coaching. He helps with infielders and hitters."

"This is my 11th year coaching and I work mainly with our infielders and pitchers."

McNeely took over the head coaching duties in 2020-21 when his team went 11-12. In 2021-22, the Hearts were 17-13.

The other two members of the State Tournament field are LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy with a 32-6 record and Sycamore with a 33-5 mark.

Effingham and Grayslake meet at 10 a.m. Friday while LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy and Sycamore square off at noon. The winners advance to the championship game Saturday at a time to be determined while the third place game is scheduled for 9 a.m.

The Hearts will return Saturday at a time to be determined to Effingham High School (approximately 4 or 6 p.m.) with police and fire department escorts starting at the Rte. 45 exit through downtown to the school, Third Street to Washington Avenue to Jefferson Avenue to Henrietta Street to the school.

Sunday, the team will receive an escort through town with police and fire departments leading. This is not a parade. Same route as was previously done on Saturday. At 2:20 p.m., a team reception will be held in the EHS Cafetorium with cupcakes, tea and lemonade. There will be a presentation of the state series awards, speakers to present and recognition of team and staff.

The Hearts celebrate after their super-sectional victory.

The final scores says it all as the Hearts won the Decatur Super-Sectional. Maddy McDevitt photos