It took 4 days, but for the Whitehall softball team it was worth the wait as they rallied past Emmaus for a 4-3 win on Friday in a game that had been postponed due to rain after 1 inning had been played last Monday.

The game resumed in the top of the second inning with the Zephs up 1-0 thanks to a Kate Yadush RBI single driving in Emma Bonshak.

The Hornets tied the game in the third with an unearned run and took the lead in the top of the fifth on a controversial obstruction call at the plate on what would have been the final out of the inning.

Whitehall got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Bonshak drew a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jess Spantiz, and scored on a two-out single to left by Kassie Aquino.

The Zephyrs took the lead in the sixth when Bella Muth got the green light on a 3-0 pitch and launched a homer over the left-centerfield fence. Muth, who had a walk-off grand slam against Emmaus last season, described the moment, “My first at bat wasn’t so great, but I got in there an knew what to expect. I made my changes and corrections and that’s what happened.”

Whitehall later scored what appeared to be an insurance run, but it turned out to be the game-winner when Nya Brown raced around the bases, scoring from first on a deep 2-out single by Bonshak. The collision at the plate left Brown with a bloody knee and bloody lip, but on the winning side. She explained the feeling of trying to score knowing there was going to be contact, “It’s a little nerve-wracking because you want to be safe and you want to get the run for your team, but at the end of the day you just have to go in and get it.”

Head coach Jeff Vivian expressed his happiness with the play, “We talk about being aggressive on the basepaths. Credit to her, credit to Ed (Stinner) for sending her. She never slowed up, she never hesitated. She was full stride and kept going. That was the difference in the game.”

Emmaus got to within with a run in the top of the seventh, but Aquino stranded the tying run on third by recording her 6th strikeout of the game.

While it was only the fifth game of the year, there was a big game feel. Vivian explained, “We know she’s (Danika Barthol) one of the top pitchers in the league. We know it’s going to be tough when we face her. This game felt bigger because I think we’re going to be neck-and-neck the whole season. Anytime you can get a leg up early on helps you down the stretch run.”

With just over one third of the regular season completed, the Zephyrs are one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the EPC with Freedom the other. This afternoon, they will put their perfect record on the line when they go to Parkland to play an EPC West contest that was postponed from last Saturday. The Trojans are 3-3 this year with wins against Allen, PM East, and Central.