Almost every team in every sport starts out its season with a goal of winning the league championship.
That’s certainly the case for all eight teams that will be in action Thursday when the Colonial League and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference crown their champions in baseball and softball.
But for the Notre Dame-Green Pond baseball team and the Northampton softball squad, the incentive is a little greater.
That’s because both the Crusaders and Konkrete Kids made last year’s league title games and things didn’t go well.
Notre Dame lost to Northwestern Lehigh 13-3 in the Colonial League baseball championship game. One day later, Northampton fell to Freedom 10-0 in the EPC softball final. Neither game went the distance due to the mercy rule.
Exactly a year after the disappointing loss, Notre Dame-Green Pond gets another crack at league glory when it meets Southern Lehigh at 3:35 p.m. Thursday at DeSales for the Colonial League crown.
“I think it is motivation to a certain extent because you don’t want to go into a league championship game and underperform,” said Crusaders coach Mike Bedics. “There’s a level of respect that we try to get from other teams in the league and other schools in the area and when you’re on a platform like that and trying to showcase what your baseball program is all about, it was disappointing to lose like that. I think they were embarrassed by what happened and they do want an opportunity to play better.”
At the same time at Patriots Park, Northampton gets its shot at redemption when it faces Parkland for the EPC softball crown.
Those games are the openers of championship doubleheaders. At DeSales, the Colonial League final will be followed by the EPC title game between Emmaus and Nazareth. At Pates Park, the EPC title game will be followed by the Colonial League championship contest between Bangor and Northwestern Lehigh.
Here’s a look at the four matchups:
Baseball
COLONIAL LEAGUE
Matchup: Notre Dame (No. 3, 18-4) vs. Southern Lehigh (No. 1, 18-3)
Time/place: 3:35 p.m. Thursday at DeSales University.
Crusaders to watch: Notre Dame features seven seniors who plan to play college baseball: Collin Quintano (Villanova), Logan Castellano (Merrimack), Jackson Shollenberger (Charleston Southern), Ben Moyzan (IMG Academy), Conner Rex (Clarion), Collin Brandon (Mercer CC), Ben Gagnon (Northampton CC) and Matt Benolken will play soccer at Moravian. The Crusaders are led offensively by Quintano (.493, 9 HR, 27 RBIs), Shollenberger (.418, 32 RBIs, 12 XBH), Castellano (.417, 22 RBIs, 13 XBH), Nick Buchman (.475, 21 RBIs) and Moyzan (.396, 23 BB). On the mound, Moyzan is 7-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 51 Ks in 30? innings. Zach Rodgers is 1-0 with 2.03 ERA and 32 Ks in 21 innings and Rex is 5-1 with a 4.75 ERA and 32 Ks in 28 innings.
Spartans to watch: Luke Lea, who pitched Tuesday, is 6-0 with a 0.646 ERA and 32 Ks in 43? innings. Matt Tankred is 3-1 with a 0.663 ERA and 57 Ks in 31? innings. Janssen Brown is 5-2 with 1,04 ERA. Offensively, Solehi is led by Tankred (.514, 43 RBIs, 33 runs), Lea (.411, 24 RBIs), Michael Andrews (.433, 32 runs), Christian Pickell (.426, 20 RBIs, 20 runs), and Will Woodring (.533, 15 2Bs, 29 RBIs). Tankred is headed to East Stroudsburg, Woodring to Inspiration Academy, Pickell and Justin Balliet to Penn State-Berks.
What to expect: The two met before in a battle of unbeatens at Limeport Stadium, a 6-4 Southern Lehigh win on April 22. Expect this one to be just as tight.
The pick: Notre Dame 5-4.
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE
Matchup: Nazareth (No. 5, 16-6) vs. Emmaus (No. 3, 18-4)
Time/place: 7:10 p.m. Thursday at DeSales University.
Blue Eagles to watch: Expected starter Jake Dally is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 69 Ks in 36? innings, Jack Bacolo, who pitched a shutout to beat Liberty, is 3-2 with 2.14 ERA ad 36 Ks in 26 innings. The offense is led by Aidan Butz (.333, 11 2Bs, 21 runs), Zach Smethers (.328, 27 RBIs), Preston Warne (.413), David Bertz (.393) and Dally (.400).
Green Hornets to watch: The Green Hornets are led on the mound by Luke Deschenes, the Seton Hill-bound senior who has gone 6? innings twice in recent weeks to beat Parkland and was a key figure in last year’s run to the league and district titles. Deschenes is 9-1 with a 1.43 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 53? innings but he won’t be allowed to pitch Thursday because of pitch count rules. So, mound options include Colin Foley (5-1, 2.1 ERA), Alex Pion (4-1, 3.6 ERA) and Ryan Latchford (0-1, 3.13 ERA), and Tyler LePage, who has two saves, could be used in relief. The offense is led by LePage (.419, 20 RBIs), Zach McEllroy (.403), Anthony Viola (.373), Colin Foley (.377, 22 RBIs), and Josiah Williams (.364, 20 runs, 26 RBIs).
What to expect: Both teams will play with confidence. Nazareth has its ace on the mound, but the Emmaus batting order might be a bit deeper and the Green Hornets have an edge in recent championship-game experience. Yet, anyone who saw the Nazareth-Liberty game shouldn’t doubt the Blue Eagles who have been terrific since April 27 with an 8-1 mark.
The pick: Nazareth 4-2.
Softball
COLONIAL LEAGUE
Matchup: Bangor (No. 2, 14-7) vs. Northwestern Lehigh (No. 1, 16-3)
Time/place: 7 p.m. Thursday at Patriots Park.
Slaters to watch: Senior Lexi Bussenger sets the tone atop the order with a .458 average and Kristina Langdon hits. .500. Jenna Rex (.328), Brook Hermanski (.373), Jaeylyn Silfies (.321) and Emma Etzkorn (.364) are all capable of big hits. Silfies will get the ball and has 71 strikeouts this season.
Tigers to watch: The Colonial League doesn’t do an all-star team or announce an MVP but Morgan Farthing would be a prime candidate. She’s hitting .515 with 8 HRs, 32 RBIs and 35 runs. Marissa Christman (.438, 27 RBIs), Sage Toman (.469, 20 RBIs), Olivia Stofflet (.417, 20 RBIs) and Brynn Balliet (.418, 4 HRs) are all prime weapons and Balliet is a veteran in the pitching circle.
What to expect: Potentially, another slugfest like last year’s 8-7 thriller won by the Tigers that went nine innings. Bangor’s heartbreaking losses in last year’s league and district finals, both 9-inning games, have the Slaters highly motivated for redemption. But magical things seem to happen for Northwestern at Patriots Park and the Tigers have the deeper, more experienced team.
The pick: Northwestern 9-6.
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE
Matchup: Parkland (No. 2, 16-5) vs. Northampton (No. 1, 21-1)
Time/place: 5 p.m. Thursday at Patriots Park.
Trojans to watch: Jenna Piatkiewicz (.460, 32 runs, 14 XBH), Cassidy Sweeney (.524, 11 XBH, 30 RBIs), and Shana Gugliandolo (.345, 17 RBIs) spark the offense and senior Ashley Hillenbrand is next in a long line of quality Parkland pitchers ready for their big moment on the postseason stage. Hillenbrand is 16-5 with a 1.57 ERA and 123 Ks in 129? IP.
Konkrete Kids to watch: A potent Northampton lineup is headed by league MVP Taylor Kranzley (.528). Devyn Demchak (.471, 3 HRs, 28 RBIs), Alexa Chromey (.401), Arianna Patterson (.429), Kaira Zamadics (.483), and Rilee Ehrlacher (.448) all give pitchers fits. Zamadics and Kaitlyn Renson give the team big-game experience in the pitching circle.
What to expect: Northampton won both previous meetings 12-2 early and 5-2 more recently. But Parkland is playing its best softball of the season and no one does a better job of bringing a team along through the course of a season than Barry Search and staff. The Trojans want their own dose of revenge after not winning either the league or district last year despite having the best regular-season record. It’s highly unusual for the 22-time league champion Trojans to be in an underdog role, but they are in this one. Northampton hasn’t won a league title since 2007 and this talented group of seniors would like to get one, but it won’t come easy.
The pick: Northampton 3-2.
We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.
