The Whitehall softball team finished off their regular season in style by rallying for a 3-2 win over archrival Northampton last Wednesday.

The Zephyrs entered the top of the seventh trailing the K-Kids 2-1, but after Bella Muth singled and Sienna Meli doubled to set up second and third with no outs, the comeback seemed assured. However, after a pair of infield ground outs which forced the runners to hold their bases, Northampton was one batter away from holding onto victory.

Senior Emma Bonshak stepped into the batter’s box and after working the count to 2-1 lined a single to right-centerfield to bring home pinch runner Mya Frana and Meli. “In my other at bats, she was throwing a lot of changeups and I was trying not to get out on another changeup. I was just trying not to do too much. That was my approach,” said Bonshak.

There was still the matter of the holding the Kids off the board in the bottom of the seventh. Pitcher Kassy Aquino made sure there was no further drama as she struck out the first two Northampton batters and retired the final hitter on a comebacker to the circle.

Aquino described the experience of closing out the big game, “I just tried to stay calm and composed. I knew that a ground ball would do the job and my defense has been there for me. I just tried to stay composed and do everything in my power that I could.”

Whitehall’s first run came in the fourth inning when Aquino hit a 2-out single to drive in Kate Yadush who had doubled earlier.

Northampton’s runs came on solo homers by Hannah Makovsky in the fifth and Nicole Yellen in the sixth.

At 18-2 overall and 15-1 in the EPC, the Zephyrs enter the EPC tournament today as the top seed. They will host 8 seed Easton at 4:30. The Rovers were one of 5 teams tied for the eighth and final spot with a 9-7 league record and got in by virtue of the having the highest power ranking in league games among the tied teams. Whitehall and Easton met back on March 24 with the Zephs coming out on top 9-4.

Bonshak summed up the team’s attitude going into the tournament as the top seed, “We definitely can’t have a big head going into it because people can beat us and we can also beat them. Having a good mindset and preparing is what we need to do.”

Head coach Jeff Vivian echoed the sentiment, “This is anybody’s league to take and we know that. We haven’t won anything yet. We have to prepare ourselves for a fight every day. We have a target on our backs as the number one seed and people are going to give their best and we’re prepared for that.”

The EPC semifinals are slated for Monday at Pates Park. The 5 p.m. game will be the winner of Stroudsburg/Freedom vs the winner of Liberty/Nazareth. If Whitehall advances, they will play the winner of Emmaus/Northampton after the 5 p.m. game concludes. The championship game is next Thursday at Pates Park at 7 p.m.

Districts start Friday, May 26.