The Northwest Bethlehem Cyclones rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was Harleysville that came up with the win, 11-6, in the PA State Connie Mack Tournament on Saturday at Limeport Stadium.

“We were pretty confident,” said Northwest manager Paul Fiore. “The guys have been playing well. It was one of those nights, and we haven’t had that all season.”

Northwest entered the state tournament with a record of 20-0 after capturing the 2021 Lehigh Valley Connie Mack League.

The team went 17-0 during the regular season before entering the Lehigh Valley playoffs as the top seed. Northwest defeated Palmerton in the opening round 12-7, then edged Northern Valley 7-6 before defeating Moore Township in the finals 10-0. Moore finished in second place with a 14-3 mark.

That was information Harleysville manager Jude Sweeney kept from his players until after the game.

“They’ve got a strong bench. They’ve got a lot of depth, so we were definitely worried about coming in and playing them,” Sweeney said. “What I’ve been telling these boys all year is when they play their game and hang in and play 21 outs in every game, they have just as much a chance to win as anyone else.”

Defense ruled for both teams through the first three innings, each coming up with a double play and six strikeouts between Northwest pitcher Nick Smith and Harleysville pitcher Garrett Moyer.

But with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, Harleysville’s Max Mento had a 2 RBI single that got past first base.

“I got a little bit lucky there. It started a big rally for us and then it gave us our big lead. We had a big six-run inning, and we took off from there,” Mento said. “I was thinking I needed to make something happen, something big needed to happen, and luckily, I came through.”

Harleysville went on to add three more runs in the top of the sixth.

“I think a lot of the guys were feeling the pressure. This is a big game, and they haven’t played a game like this ever,” said Coach Fiore. “We have a target on our back. When you’re 20-0, teams are saving their best pitchers for later games. You know, we don’t have any excuses. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to.”

Moyer was using his slider curveball combo to try and keep Northwest’s hits at a minimum, but with back-to-back singles by Smith and Ezra Figueroa in the third inning, Moyer was able to work his way out.

“I was thinking I gotta’ get a strikeout here, or throw a ground ball for a double play, whatever we can do to get an out,” Moyer said. “Mainly the slider curveball combo kept them off-balance. They didn’t know which one was coming. I wanted the challenge. I wanted to end their streak.”

But with two innings left in the game, Northwest wasn’t about to give up on a challenge either.

Kole Zellner had a hit that went right down the third base line, Dominik Perez’s hit dropped in left center for a double, Zellner scored on a single by Aaron Clark, and Miguel Diaz-Rivera’s base hit to left center scored Perez, all in the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Northwest tacked on four more runs, starting with a single by Dylan Pyle. JJ Cruz followed up with a single that dropped in center field, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch.

Evan Applegate singled, scoring Pyle, and Cruz made it safe at home on a wild pitch. Perez singled for an RBI, Clark had a hit to right field, and with the bases loaded, Diaz-Rivera had an RBI single to right.

“I think they did the best they could tonight, and I’m proud of them for fighting back for six runs. I think we just had the conversation we needed,” said Coach Fiore after the game, “and I think they’ll bounce back fine.”

Winning pitcher Moyer was relieved by Liam O’Leary in the seventh inning, and Cruz came on in relief of Smith in the sixth.