Josh Zimmerman said his Northwestern Lehigh softball team has a flair for the dramatic.
While that flair may not be good for his hairline and puts a little more gray into his beard, Zimmerman appreciates the tenacity and resilience of his Tigers who are returning to the Colonial League championship after several comebacks gave them a 5-4 win over Palisades in eight innings Tuesday night at Patriots Park.
Northwestern Lehigh was down 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 but came up with two runs in the bottom of the eighth after the Pirates scored once in the top half of the inning.
Isabelle Akelaitis had the game-tying hit and Morgan Farthing’s double provided the game-winner. Both of them had two hits.
“We’ve been in that situation before and it wasn’t any different and the girls came out on top,” Zimmerman said. “I can’t be any happier for a group of girls who have done so much for this program, especially our seniors who now have 55 wins in their careers and that’s with losing the entire 2020 season due to COVID-19. They’ve been ultra-successful and have cemented Northwestern softball as a perennial contender.”
Farthing, who hit the game-tying home run in last year’s come-from-behind win over Bangor in the Colonial League championship game, had another big night with a hit, stolen base, and run scored in the first and then had a game-tying single in the fourth.
“We try to put the girls in pressure situations in practice and see how they respond, and while you can’t replicate game situations, it helps,” Zimmerman said. “I go back to 2019 and a district playoff win over Tamaqua and Brynn Balliet had a walk-off hit in that one. So it’s nothing new or strange for us. It’s nice to know as a coach that you’re not lying when you tell them between innings that they’re never out of a game. A few times, we could have given up but they don’t. There’s something special about them that they’ve been able to do this several times in their careers.”
Northwestern Lehigh (16-3) was able to cover five errors and 13 strikeouts recorded by Palisades freshman Karlye Teman. The Tigers will meet Bangor in a rematch of last year’s wild 8-7, 9-inning win in the league final on Thursday at Patriots Park.
COLONIAL LEAGUE SOFTBALL
Bangor 8, Southern Lehigh 5
A four-run fifth inning broke open a tight game. Jade Hendricks hit a home run in the sixth as the Slaters returned to the league final for the 10th time and the sixth time in eight seasons. Jaylyn Silfies was the winning pitcher and also had an RBI. Jenna Fey and Kristina Langdon also were keys in Bangor’s 11-hit attack.
COLONIAL LEAGUE BASEBALL
Notre Dame 9, Saucon Valley 4
Collin Quintano worked seven innings on the mound and allowed three earned runs and eight hits; he also hit a home run, had three hits overall and drove in two runs on Tuesday in the Colonial League semifinals at Easton Area High School. The Crusaders return to the league finals for the fourth time in five years.
Quintano walked one and struck out nine as Notre Dame improved to 18-4. Ben Moyzan had two hits and scored a run, while Conner Rex had two hits and two RBIs. Logan Castellano had a three-run double to highlight a six-run fifth inning as Saucon Valley (16-3) had a 15-game winning streak snapped. Jake Albert had two hits and two RBIs for the Panthers.
Southern Lehigh 7, Northwestern Lehigh 0
In a semifinal at Lehigh-Carbon Community College, Luke Lea tossed a seven-hit shutout and the Spartans scored four runs in the first inning and tacked on three more in the fifth. Landon Bealer scored two runs and knocked in two, Will Woodring had two doubles and Michael Andrews had two hits and scored a pair of runs as the Spartans improved to 18-3. The Tigers fell to 14-8 and had a nine-game winning streak snapped despite two hits apiece by Ben Boyer and Josh Lichman.
The Spartans, who are in the final for the first time since 2018, will face Notre Dame for the title at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at DeSales University’s Weiland Park.
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