Sometimes the best compliments come from opponents. After facing Katie Zaun on Tuesday, an Emmaus coach commented that she doesn’t throw very hard, but she moves the ball around so much that the velocity doesn’t matter.

That approach was good enough for Zaun to throw her first varsity no-hitter Tuesday, beating Emmaus 9-0. The accomplishment is notable since the Lady Hornets (4-4 EPC, 4-6 overall) had averaged six runs per game coming into the first of two games this week between the two rivals. Zaun struck out 14 batters and walked just three in the win.

“It really does feel good, especially against a good team like Emmaus and being division rivals,” said Zaun of her accomplishment.

At the plate, Zaun went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Parkland broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third when Morgan Stay led off the inning with a base-hit and one out later, a walk and a single loaded the bases. Jenna Piatkiewic then walked with the bases loaded but Emmaus pitcher Lily Bruckler got the next two batters without allowing any further damage, holding Parkland to a 1-0 lead.

The Lady Trojans (9-0, 9-2) broke the game open in the fourth when they sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored eight times. An error, three walks and a hit batter pushed across two runs to start the scoring spree. A ground ball to short by Cassidy Sweeney plated the third run of the inning. Another Emmaus error made it 5-0 and a two-run single by Shana Gugliandolo put two more runs on the board for Parkland. Zaun then tripled to bring home Gugliandolo and after a fielder’s choice, Maddie Konapelsky doubled to make it 9-0.

“I really work on my offense, and we’ve got a lot of good hitters in our lineup,” said Zaun. “We can definitely put some runs on the board, and we look to take advantage of other team’s mistakes.”

After giving up three hits in the fourth inning after relieving Bruckler, pitcher Vanessa Anders settled in and allowed just two more hits the rest of the way.

Zaun’s no-hitter followed up a two-hit performance by Ashlyn Hillanbrand against Dieruff (0-7, 0-8) on Monday. Parkland downed the Huskies 15-0 in that game that saw Lucia Ruimy hit a second inning grand slam.

Sydney Stewart drove in three runs for the Lady Trojans in the win over Dieruff and Ellyana Kromer and Megan Sotack both had two hits, with Sotack also driving in two runs. Katelynn Scott also drove in two runs in the win.

The two wins came on the heels of a 2-1 loss to Northampton last Saturday after the Konkrete Kids (7-1, 8-1) scored a sixth inning run to take their first lead of the game. A first inning triple by Gugliandolo brought home Jenna Piatkiewicz to give the Lady Trojans an early 1-0 lead. Northampton tied the game with a run in the fifth and got what would be the winning run in the sixth.

“We ran into some good pitching, and we couldn’t get a lot of offense going,” said coach Barry Search about the loss to Northampton. “They’re a good team and they were able to get that extra run and we couldn’t, so it was tough.”

Search is happy to see the results that hard work has brought about for Zaun both on the mound and at the plate.

“She’s a good kid,” said Search. “She works hard, but she also keeps things light, and we have a lot of fun with her. Just a great kid and her teammates all respect her.”