Ultimately, it came down to one bad inning for Northwestern Lehigh as the Tigers fell to Saucon Valley 4-2 in the District 11 baseball semifinals.

The Tigers came into the postseason playing as well as they had all season, but the Panthers had pitcher Rocco Viscito on the mound, and he was equally hot as the Northwestern offense.

The Panthers manufactured a run in the first with a base hit, stolen base, fly out and ground out to open the game. Jake Klotz then doubled, but starter Shaun O’Donnell settled in and stranded Klotz at second.

That one bad inning for Northwestern came in the fourth when a couple mental mistakes and an error led to Jake Albert hitting a sacrifice fly for one run and another run scored on a pickoff play that resulted in a runner coming home and the other returning safely to first base.

“Infield play was the difference in the game today. They made some great plays, diving plays in the infield to knock down some hits and we made a few mistakes and that wound up being the difference in the game,” said Northwestern head coach Chad Cooperman.

It took until the sixth inning for Northwestern to get to Viscito. Coming into the inning, the Tigers had just two hits against the left-hander, but Wes George opened the inning with a base hit. Just as they had done with their two other hits, it appeared George would be stranded at first base when Viscito got the next two batters.

Justin Augustus, who had singled back in the fourth, singled again to put two runners on and Josh Farber added another single to load the bases. Needing a big hit, Chase Moyer delivered when he grounded a single into left field that brought both George and Augustus home to make it 3-2.

Known for their come-from-behind wins this season, the Tigers appeared ready to pounce, but Saucon Valley scored a run in the bottom of the sixth when the Panthers loaded the bases on a single and two walks ahead of Viscito, who singled to make it 4-2, which broke the momentum that Northwestern had built in the top of the inning.

“That definitely changes how you can approach the seventh inning and I thought it was more of a momentum grab, if anything for Saucon,” said Cooperman. “It impacted how we played in the seventh, but it was the momentum swing more than anything.”

Reliever Jake Klotz got the first two outs in the seventh before George singled for the second time. Josh Lichman hit a ball to left field that was sinking fast, but Cole Hubert, who had just moved to left from center field, made a desperation dive and was able to catch the ball and hang onto it for the final out of the game.

O’Donnell was charged with three earned runs on four hits and two walks over five innings and Moyer allowed a run on two hits and two walks in his one inning of work.

“We had a good season after getting off to a slow start and I have to credit the guys for getting things straightened out and making a good run. We have to figure out how to get off to better starts in games and avoid playing from behind as much as we have,” said Cooperman about his team’s season.

Northwestern has just two seniors in Sam Mauro and Wes George, so they have a good foundation for the 2024 season. Most of their pitching returns apart from the 13 innings that George pitched this season with a 4.31 ERA. George also hit .327 this season for Northwestern. Mauro played in 19 games with the Tigers.