Even though Northwestern fell short of its goal of winning the Lehigh Valley High School Baseball Tournament, the team at least had the opportunity to get together for three games and appropriately end the playing days for Tiger seniors.

Each team was guaranteed three games in the tournament and Northwestern Lehigh picked up a 15-1 win over Salisbury in their opener. From there, the Tigers needed a win over either Saucon Valley or Emmaus, but weren’t able to beat either team, dropping a pair of one-run games.

The losses ended Northwestern’s run, but the experience gave the team the opportunity to play some exciting baseball in a great atmosphere.

“I told the guys that I hoped they took a minute to look around and just soak in the atmosphere,” said coach Duran Porrino. “We all wanted an opportunity to get back together and play and this was it, so you have to savor it for as long as it lasts. The atmosphere was great and we had kids who played here over the past couple of years coming back and sitting in the stands to cheer us on and a lot of parents here, so it was a great opportunity.”

COVID-19 wiped out the spring sports season, but the tournament gave 32 teams from across the Lehigh Valley the opportunity to participate one final time.

The schedule matched schools from the Colonial League against schools from the EPC, with a handful of other teams from around and outside the Lehigh Valley area thrown in to fill out the field of 32.

“It was a neat format because it matched up teams that you don’t normally see playing each other,” said Porrino. “There’s always the talk back and forth about how some of the smaller schools might fare against EPC schools and this gave us at least a little glimpse of that.”

Northwestern’s Rafe Perich put up huge offensive numbers in the event, hitting .727 in the three games with a long home run included. Defensively, he made big plays at shortstop and gave the Tigers five shutout innings on the mound against Emmaus.

“It was great to get together with these guys and get to play some baseball again,” said Perich, who will return for his senior season in 2021. “For some of these guys it was the last time that we would get to play together, so it’s pretty special.”

While not a great sample size, Porrino was happy with what he saw from young players who will return to be a part of the team next spring. Much of the team remains intact for next season, with key players who will return, with Perich being a key asset. The tournament roster listed seven seniors who have graduated and will leave behind some holes to fill.

“We should be pretty good again next season,” said Perich. “We’re losing some really good players, but we also have a good group of guys who will be back, so I think we’ll be pretty good.”