Softball fans were treated to 9 tense innings between two of the best squads the EPC has to offer this season when Whitehall traveled to Emmaus last Saturday in a clash of division rivals. A stunning Zephyr comeback was thwarted when the Hornets tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the seventh and later walked off in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-2 win.

Whitehall’s Kassy Aquino and Emmaus’ Danika Barthol both took no-hitters into the fifth inning. Aquino was aided by a pair of defensive gems by her middle infielders, Jess Spanitz and Emma Bonshak in the bottom of the fourth.

Spanitz also managed to get the Zephyrs first hit of the game, a 2-out infield single in the fifth.

However, it was the Hornets who put up the first run of the game when a 2-out double by Shayla Morgan plated Ashlyn Sherwood.

After six innings of offensive futility, Kate Yadush gave Zephs fans reason to hope when she led off the top of the seventh with a hard single off the Emmaus’ shortstop’s glove. One pitch later, Maddie Lasko tied the game by ripping a triple to centerfield. Aquino then put Whitehall on top with a double that missed clearing the rightfield fence by a couple of feet. Barthol retired the next three batters in order, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh with Whitehall up 2-1.

Yadush turned in a web gem by snaring a blistering liner off her shoe tops for the first out. A walk and double turned the Whitehall mood from eager anticipation to foreboding dread. A sacrifice fly tied the game, but a routine ground out ended the threat.

The Zephyrs got a leadoff single to start the eighth, but a missed sign resulted in the runner being thrown out. Bonshak followed up with a single but was left stranded.

Emmaus went down in order in the eighth.

Lasko led off ninth with a single but was left on base when the inning ended. A one-out Spanitz rocket required a nice play by the Emmaus centerfielder.

The Hornets loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with two singles and an intentional walk. Whitehall was able to get one out at the plate, but Morgan collected her third RBI of the game with the walkoff single.

Whitehall head coach Jeff Vivian gave his thoughts.

“Emmaus is going to be one of the better teams we see in this conference,” he said. “We had to see her (Barthol) live and make adjustments off that. There’s a couple of things we have to address base-running wise, but our approach at the plate is a big plus we take out of this. Out pitching and defense held them one base at a time. That’s a big thing we always talk about.”

Whitehall doesn’t have any home games on the schedule over the next seven days. However, on Wednesday, they’ll cross the bridge to face Northampton for the first time since the K-Kids won the district championship game in 2021.