Grant Schumaker knew he needed to pick up his play over the last few holes of Emmaus' key Lehigh Valley Conference tri-match with Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland last Tuesday at Iron Lakes Country Club.

The Hornet junior was trailing Becahi's JT Barker by four strokes standing on the tee at the par 5 16th hole. Schumaker would make birdie on that hole and finish with a birdie on the daunting par 3 18th, while Barker was four-over during the same stretch.

The six-shot swing was critical as Emmaus held on for a 371-377 win over the Golden Hawks to gain the inside track to an LVC crown. Schumaker finished at even-par 71, while Barker shot 74. Parkland was a distant third in the showdown, shooting 403.

"After 15 I figured we were down by about five shots," Schumaker said. "At that point I was thinking that I really needed to beat [Barker], because that was really going to be the turning point in the match."

Schumaker wasn't the only Hornet that closed with a strong back nine to help flip the script on Becahi. Top man Kyle Wambold went four-under on the back nine to shoot 67 the low score on the day and help Emmaus pull out the win.

Wambold shot even par on the front and was neck and neck with Becahi's top player, freshman Nick Maff. Wambold got into red numbers with a birdie on 11 and then closed strong, He eagled the par 5 16th and then birdied the short par 4 17th to close out his four-under round. Maff shot a one-under 70, the second lowest score of the day.

"With not being very deep this year, I knew I had to do something low, something in the 60s," Wambold said. "Just to get a us a couple shots ahead. I wanted to at least get off to a good start."

Wambold got a word of encouragement from head coach Mike Mihalik when making the turn and pulled his game together quickly. After two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, the Hornet senior was steady on the back.

"He said I need to do something good," Wambold said. "I know I can. The course is set up well for me to shoot four under. I figured why not? I got a little more aggressive because I knew I had to do something."

The rest of the Hornets came through in the win. Third player Carlos Fullerton and four man Mike Lessel both shot 76 and Chris Erb rounded out the top five with an 81.

Emmaus is through the tough part of the LVC schedule unscathed. After a win over Northampton in the opening week of the season, the victory over Becahi and Parkland should guarantee them the top spot in the District 11 team tournament.

The Hornets closed the week with another tri-match win over Freedom and Whitehall, posting a 379. Wambold (70), Schumaker (71), Fullerton (75), Erb (80) and Lessel (83) shot the five lowest scores in the match.