First-year head coach Richard Giering and the Emmaus High School softball team has taken to the new leadership regime and hit the ground running, winning six of their first seven games of the 2022 regular season.

The Green Hornets won their first three games of the 2022 season, including two in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. After their first defeat to Spring-Ford in nonconference action, Emmaus bounced right back and got an important, nine-inning victory over Whitehall and then went 2-1 over its next three conference games.

“We’re off to a 6-2 start, which is incredible for a team under a new head coach,” said Giering. “The girls have come together and accepted me and my coaching philosophy and ran with it. We lost two tough games against some top teams. I’m very happy with how things are going other than a few little mistakes which we need to clean up, but all in all it has been a great first three-four weeks of the regular season.”

After four scoreless innings to open the game, Emmaus got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the fifth. The Zephyrs, however, scored twice in the seventh, setting up a score or go home bottom half. The Green Hornets were able to tie the game that frame and then won it in the ninth.

“The conference fast start is nice, and the Whitehall win was a good character builder for our program,” Giering said. “They are a great team and have been where we want to be, competing for conference and district championships. It’s a win that I hope catapults us forward into more big wins.”

Emmaus hasn’t given up more than four runs all season and that is in large part due to the success of the pitching staff.

“Our pitching has been really good, especially at the top with Danika Barthol,” said Giering. “That group has been excellent. I couldn’t ask for anything more from Barthol and our three other pitchers.”

Emmaus takes on rival Parkland on the road on Wednesday before hosting Pocono Mountain East on Thursday.