Whitehall players feel like they are the Rodney Dangerfield of local softball. Even though they have played for a championship in each of the past two district finals, the Lady Zephyrs are always an afterthought in discussions about the top teams.

With a 9-7 win over Parkland Tuesday night, that may change as Whitehall will head to its third straight district title game to face Northampton Thursday at Patriots Park.

The Zephs came out blustery Tuesday and every time that Parkland looked to brush them aside, Whitehall would again strike back. The first five hitters of the game collected three singles, a double and a triple as Whitehall put up three first-inning runs against the Lady Trojans.

Not a team to worry, Parkland may have failed to score in the first, but came back ready to go in the second when they grouped two singles, a walk, a double and a fielder’s choice together to open the inning.

The double was off the bat of sophomore catcher Morgan Schultz-Stuardi, who lined a shot down the left field line to clear the bags for Parkland.

“I have been struggling at the plate, but the whole team has been behind me, and it has been amazing. They are definitely a big support system,” Schultz-Stuardi said.

The inning knotted the game at 3-3 and the plan was for Ashlyn Hillanbrand to continue shutting down the Whitehall offense after she had retired five in a row coming into the inning. Not enjoying the feeling of a tie ballgame though, Whitehall went right back to work and again grouped hits with the first six batters reaching base.

Pitcher Kasay Aquino delivered a two-run single to right center field and Aubrey Steiner brought her home with a double to right as Whitehall made it 6-3.

The lead could have been more if not for two baserunning gaffes by Whitehall. In the first, McKenzie Laub tripled but was called out when she lifted her hand off the bag before timeout being called and Steiner was thrown out attempting to stretch her double into a triple in the third. Both players would have scored on hits that followed the miscues.

Hillanbrand was relieved by Emily Carl in the fourth inning and the two combined to keep Whitehall from adding to its lead. In the fifth, Whitehall put runners on first and third and coach Barry Search went back to Hillanbrand and again, the plan worked as the starter turned reliever struck out Ally Pavone for the final out of the inning.

Aquino had begun to settle in on the mound and at one point, retired eight of nine hitters with just Cassidy Sweeney reaching base with a single to lead off the third inning. In the fifth, the story returned to being the Parkland offense when Jenna Piatkiewicz led off with a single and went to second on an errant throw. She then advanced on a groundout and scored on a ground ball to first off the bat of Sweeney, making it a 6-4 game.

Whitehall added what would be much-needed insurance runs in the top of the sixth, sparked by a leadoff bunt single by Hannah Bundra. A sacrifice bunt led Search to intentionally walk McKenzie Laub and an error loaded the bases with just one out. Maddie Lasko delivered a two-run single to right and a groundout by Aquino plated another run to make it 9-4 heading to the bottom of the sixth.

As the teams had done throughout the game, Parkland battled back again to keep pressure on Whitehall. With two outs in the sixth, Ashlyn Cope singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double from Lucia Ruimy. A walk and an infield single loaded the bags and Allison Hunsberger singled to drive in what would be Parkland’s final run of the season, making it 9-7.

Hillanbrand and Aquino both pitched quiet seventh innings with Aquino recording the final two outs on ground balls back to the circle.

“I thought we were going to make it further than this as a team, but I am proud of all of us. We are EPC champions and Ashlyn (Hillanbrand) was amazing for us and pushed us through,” said Schultz-Stuardi, who is in her first varsity season. “Without the whole team behind her and really helping each other, we would not have even made it this far.”

The win puts Whitehall back in the district finals where they will meet Northampton who knocked off Emmaus in the other semifinal game at Pate’s Park on Tuesday. The championship game will be played Thursday and both teams will then continue their seasons in the PIAA tournament, which gets underway next week.