Since the formation of the Lehigh Valley Conference for the 2002-2003 season, coach John Eyer has guided his Lady Green Hornets to four division titles and two District 11 titles, but an LVC title has eluded his teams.

Monday night, Emmaus took a big step toward getting that monkey off its back with a 6-2 come-from-behind win over top-seeded Northampton in 10 innings.

The win puts Emmaus into the LVC Championship game where it faces two-time defending champion Bethlehem Catholic, which beat Emmaus 7-1 during the regular season.

The win over Northampton was keyed by catcher Lizzy Natiello, who picked up a single, double and triple in the win, scoring two runs and driving in two runs, including the go-ahead runs in the top of the 10th inning. Natiello also made a nice play on a ball in the dirt that scooted away from her in the bottom of the ninth. She flipped the ball to pitcher Olivia Marcks, who blocked the plate and put the tag on Northampton's Tori Gollie, the potential winning run.

"I just stayed calm and knew that if I could make a good toss, we had a chance to get her," said Natiello of the play. "Liv [Olivia Marcks] did a great job of blocking the plate and that made the play."

After Emmaus fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, Marcks buckled down and allowed just five hits over the next nine innings and kept Northampton off the board. Emmaus had trouble figuring out Northampton starter Marly Laubach, who started the game with three perfect innings, striking out seven of the nine hitters that she set down. From there, Emmaus started to figure out what it had to do against the LVC all-star and went to work.

With one out in the fifth, Morgan Patterson tripled and scored on a Northampton error to cut the Konkrete Kids lead to 2-1. Emmaus still had runners on second and third with one out, but Laubach was able to shut down the rally. An inning later, Natiello doubled to lead off the inning and went to third on a ground ball by Miryah Palko. The throw to try to get Natiello at third was off line and Natiello came home with the tying run.

The two teams remained tied and played under international tie-breaking rules starting with the 10th inning. In international rules, the inning starts with a runner on second, increasing the team's chances of scoring.

Emmaus started the 10th with Anna Snyder on second and twice tried to bunt her along. Marcks bunt was fielded by Gollie, who had no play at third and was unable to throw out Marcks at first. Rachel Brown, the designated player, then dropped another bunt and Gollie again was unable to throw out Brown at first, loading the bases.

Natiello then stepped up and delivered a two-run single and Cassidy Sullivan followed with a two-run single of her own to give Emmaus two key insurance runs and a 6-2 lead.

"She's [Laubach] a great pitcher, so I just tried to make contact and that's what I did. The way we played together today was amazing," said Sullivan of her 10th-inning hit. "I moved back in the box and stayed away from her rise-ball and watched her movement. The most important thing is that I didn't think. If I don't think, then I hit, so that's what I did."

The win gives Emmaus momentum as they chase that elusive LVC title, something that could give them an edge over Bethlehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks have captured the conference title the past two seasons and rely heavily on pitcher Joelle Morey, who got the win earlier in the season against Emmaus and also homered in that game.

"Honestly, I think the momentum we gained from this game will carry on to Beca and we can definitely do what we did tonight and pull through," said Natiello of the upcoming meeting with the Golden Hawks.