With Whitehall and Parkland locked in a pitcher’s duel, the Trojans finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together a pair of doubles to edge the visiting Zephyrs.

Parkland won 1-0 when Olivia Ondrejca connected with a deep drive that sailed into the right/center gap, scoring Kelly Dulaney who had earlier doubled down the left field line.

The hit sent the Zephyrs home with their third loss of the year.

Whitehall had wriggled out of a jam the previous inning when Parkland loaded the bases with one out. However, they kept the game scoreless thanks to two good defensive plays, with Abigail Reese making a nice stab at shortstop and firing a strike to home, cutting down the runner.

Head coach Blake Morgan watched his team battle a Trojan team that currently is tied for the lead in the Skyline Division with Northampton at 7-1. Whitehall handed the Konkrete Kids their lone loss, defeating them11-1 last week.

“This is what big games are all about and we have to find a way,” said Morgan. “I think we hit right with them, so a lot of credit to pitchers on both sides. We just couldn’t string two back to back, and they did.”

Starting pitcher Madison Cunningham kept her team in the game, racking up over seven strikeouts in seven innings of work. Morgan said there are probably a few pitches she would like to have back, and limiting mistakes against Parkland is always paramount when stepping in the circle.

Splashed across the center field fence are four banners honoring Parkland’s state championships, their latest coming in 2105.

Morgan spent a long time as a coach with the Trojans and respects their program.

“What Parkland has accomplished is unbelievable,” said Morgan. “We really respect them and hopefully we earned their respect today.”

Whitehall’s ability to keep the Trojans off the board in the sixth with the bases jammed and less than two outs demonstrated their composure in a pressure-packed situation.

“Their mindset this year is like, ‘hey, we’re working as hard as anybody, we’ve earned the right to go compete and have fun,’ and they’re taking that into every game,” said Morgan.

The Zephyrs had five hits, but they were scattered over the whole game. Designated hitter Logan Bortz may have gotten the best swing off Dulaney, but it stayed up for the left fielder to make a play. Arner had a knock, while Meghan Hutter also reached base on a single.

The Zephs also made good defensive plays throughout the game. Catcher Anastasia Yocum made an excellent throw to toss out Nicole Klass, throwing right on the second base bag to end the inning.

The Zephyrs haven’t beaten the Trojans since 2016, and Morgan said that the team is doing the right things and working hard, and perhaps Parkland will come out on the losing end on a game like this next time.

While the game against Parkland went in the Trojans’ favor, the Zephs defeated the Kids, clobbering nine hits and scoring 11 runs against Madison Biechy another top hurler in the EPC. The Zephs have won games against Nazareth and Northampton this season, besting two of the best teams and pitchers in the league. Their other Skyline loss came against Emmaus.

“To win two of those is fantastic, and to be so close in the other two, it just means we have to work a little bit harder,” said Morgan.

In the win against Northampton, Yocum had two hits and two RBIs, while Lindsey Gawrys had a double, knocking in two runs.