Jason Fatzinger doesn't consider himself to be a power-hitter, but he does have a knack for summoning some extra power at the most opportune times. Against Nazareth earlier this season, Fatzinger launched a game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Nazareth 3-2. Last week, he went deep against Freedom to start a big offensive day for the Hornets.

Emmaus and Freedom were scoreless in the top of the third when Fatzinger ripped a long home run to left-center field, putting the Green Hornets up 2-0. From there, Fatzinger went on to another big day, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, home run, four RBI and three runs scored in Emmaus' 12-7 win over Freedom.

"He crushed the ball right when we needed it and drove in four runs for us. He's hitting the ball really well," said coach John Schreiner.

While Fatzinger, a junior, is putting up big numbers, he also realizes that he's getting a lot of help from the other guys in the Emmaus lineup.

"The guys in front of me are doing an amazing job of getting on base with hits or walks, whatever they have to do," said Fatzinger. "And it seems like whenever I get on base, I'm moving right away because Zach [Fotta] is hitting the ball really well and he drives me in a lot."

The win over Freedom, combined with an 8-1 win over Allen, in which Fatzinger drove in another run, puts Emmaus at 14-2 overall and 10-1 in the Lehigh Valley Conference. The LVC Tournament field has been finalized over the past week. Liberty, Whitehall and Parkland join Emmaus in the hunt for the LVC title.

"We've still got Parkland coming up on the schedule, so hopefully, we can beat them and keep winning," said Fatzinger. "Our goal is to win the LVC and win districts and that's what we're focused on right now."

While Emmaus has lost just two games all season, the Hornets have struggled defensively at times and can sometimes let teams battle their way back into the game. They held a 10-0 lead over Freedom, but let the Patriots back into the game, thanks in part to some weak defense and the fact that Freedom started to find some holes against starter Luke Miller.

"We had a 10-0 lead and I think we sort of let down," said Schreiner. "We've been a little sloppy in some games and we have to stay focused for all seven innings.

"On the other hand, we played last week at Liberty and I thought we played one of our best games all year."

After being rained out twice, Emmaus and Parkland are set to meet each other Tuesday (May 6) at Parkland High School. After that, the Hornets host Central Catholic on Thursday to wrap up their regular season schedule.

The LVC Tournament begins Monday at Hackett Park in Easton. The game against Parkland could go a long way toward determining the seedings. Whitehall could have a leg up on the top seed, with wins over both Emmaus and Parkland this season. It was the Zephyrs that knocked both Emmaus and Parkland out of the ranks of the undefeated this season in the LVC.