The Northampton softball team entered the season as the two-time defending District XI 6A champions, but facing a difficult question – how do you replace 6 all-EPC seniors including the league MVP and your ace pitcher?

The K-Kids provided an answer on Tuesday as they rallied from 2-0 down in the seventh inning to beat Parkland 3-2 to kick off their 2023 campaign.

The team’s lone returning all-conference selection, Hannah Makovsky, opened the game by lining the first pitch she saw into the right-centerfield field gap for a double. However, she was caught in a rundown between second and third.

The Kids had a pair of baserunners in the second inning and loaded the bases in the third, but could not break through against Trojans’ pitcher Allison Hunsberger.

Meanwhile, Northampton hurler Emma Fraley worked out of a no-out bases loaded jam in the second inning and a no-out first and third situation in the fourth without surrendering a run.

Parkland finally broke the scoring drought in the fifth inning. Hunsberger drew a leadoff walk, Evelyn Montone followed with a single, and Brenna Zavecz brought them both home with a double to right. The Kids erased Zavecz on a fielder’s choice, but the Trojans did load the bases with 2 out before shortstop Kylie Eberts took a grounder and made the unassisted putout at second.

Down to their final three outs, Northampton sent the top of the order to the plate in the seventh trailing 2-0. Makovsky reached on an error and Ava Cascario followed with an infield single. After an out, Fraley delivered a double to left center to score Makovsky and cut the deficit in half. Catcher Angela Fisher knocked in Cascario with a single through the left side of the infield to knot the game at 2. Eberts walked to the load the bases and Nicole Yellen lifted a sacrifice fly to left to put the Kids on top.

In the bottom of the seventh, the first two Parkland batters hit fly balls that nestled harmlessly in Makovsky’s glove in left. However, the next two hitters singled providing some last-minute drama. Eberts sealed the win by smoothly fielding a ball to her left and making an accurate throw to Cascario for the final out.

Fraley described the pressure of pitching the final inning up a run, “My team was there. They backed me up with the runs and I was more comfortable and confident with them behind me because they showed that they’ll get it done. I wasn’t really concerned because I knew they had it.”

Head coach Kristy Henritzy spoke about the team’s response in their first game of the year, “You don’t know what to expect when you have as many people changing, but I feel like they were out to prove something. Their attitude is like, ‘We lost a lot of great players, but we’re here too.’ So they’re out to prove that we can be just as good as we were last year.”