By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County’s memorable baseball season came to an end March 8 after falling to River Ridge 6-0 in the deciding third game of a Class 5A Elite Eight series.

The Rebels (30-7) won the first game of the series 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday before losing the nightcap 2-0 to set up a winner-advances showdown.

The Knights (25-13) will play Newnan in the semifinals.

For the second straight game, River Ridge’s pitching silenced the Rebels’ high-powered offense, which averaged nearly eight runs a game entering the series.

Knights’ righthander Connor Johnson registered 12 ground-ball outs while pitching a two-hitter. He did not allow a Rebel to reach third base.

Offensively, River Ridge played aggressively. The Knights beat throws to the plate on fielder’s choice grounders to score their first two runs and had four stolen bases (twice stealing third) during a four-run fourth inning that broke the game open.

ECHS, however, can look back at a season of almost unprecedented improvement. The Rebels won only 10 games in 2024 and did not make the state playoffs.

This season, ECHS captured its first region title since 2019 and fell just one victory short of the school’s single-season record of 31, also set by the 2019 team.