After an 8-2 start to the season the Northampton softball team has hit a bit of a swoon, dropping three straight games to fall to 8-5, 5-4 in the EPC.

The middle game of that stretch was a Saturday matinee against the last remaining (at the time) undefeated team in District XI, Freedom. The Patriots used a 3-run first and a 4-run fourth to top NHS 7-4.

Freedom converted a leadoff walk and a pair of singles into two runs to open up the scoring. An outfield error with two down allowed the Patriots to plate the third run.

Freedom scored 4 more runs in the fourth. Northampton looked like it was going to have a 1-2-3 inning after getting the first two batters to ground out, bringing up the number nine hitter. A slow bouncer resulted in a bang-bang play at first with the runner ruled safe.

The top of the Patriots’ order took advantage with four straight hits including doubles from the 2, 3, and 4 hitters.

The K-Kids had a golden opportunity to get back in the game when they loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the inning but could only score 1 run on a 1-out fielder’s choice groundout by Josephine Siegfried.

Hannah Duerr socked a 2-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to get Northampton within 7-3 and the Kids added their run in the bottom of the seventh on a 2-out RBI single by Avery Deibert.

Deibert and Kylie Eberts were both 3-4 with 3 singles. Duerr added a pair of walks including an intentional pass in the seventh.

Hailey Makovsky went the distance in the circle, striking out four and walking one.

“We just can’t put it all together right now,” said head coach Kristy Henritzy. “But I’m proud of the girls. They’re fighters. They’re scrappy. It’s tough. We have a young pitching staff, young players across the board. We have 4 sophomores and 2 freshmen starting right now. We’re going to be really good in the future, but this year is definitely not a wash. If we can put the pieces together in the stretch, we’re going to be all right.”

While the slump has been disappointing, the team’s 5 losses are by a total of 9 runs, with three of the games being 1-run contests. There are currently 10 teams with 6 or more EPC wins, so qualifying for the league tournament will require a strong finish.

This afternoon, the K-Kids host Parkland (9-3). Friday, Eastburg South (5-8) comes calling. Monday, they play Freedom (11-1) again at home before going to Parkland on Tuesday to complete the home-and-home with the Trojans.