Northampton’s 11-8 softball win over Kutztown last Friday showcased their high-octane offense, disciplined defense, and uncertainty inside the circle as the Spring sports season gets underway.

Junior catcher Hannah Duerr, already a two-time EPC first-team All-Star, has not needed much time to transition from basketball to the softball field as she homered for the second time in three games as part of a 4 for 4 game that also included a pair of doubles.

She discussed the approach that has made her one of the most feared hitters in the EPC, “I don’t think about too much honestly. Like, I just see it and hit it. You can’t overcomplicate it. That just makes things harder.”

Head coach Kristy Henritzy chimed in, “She’s super dedicated to her craft. People think that because she’s a strong athlete, she just shows up and succeeds. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that she’s committed to that other people are not.”

Avery Deibert also had big game at the plate, blasting a 2-out 2-run homer to centerfield in the second inning and adding an RBI single in the fifth.

The Kids needed to put on their hitting shoes because they fell behind 3-0 after the top of the first inning. Three of the first 4 Kutztown batters walked. A single and a double plated three runs and left runners on second and third with one out.

Henritzy summoned Rylee Gable to the circle and she delivered a pair of strikeouts to get the Kids out of the inning. Gable’s line for the game was 6 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 11 hits, 5 K’s, and 2 walks.

Northampton responded with 5 runs in the bottom of the first and added a pair in the bottom of the second and never trailed again.

Despite the offensive fireworks, the play of the game was a textbook double rundown to snuff out a Kutztown threat in the third inning. After a leadoff double, the next batter grounded to third baseman Ro Echevarria. She trapped the lead baserunner in a pickle and once that runner was tagged out the Kids did the same to the batter who had tried to go to second.

“When that happened, I was like, “Oh my God, this is everything that we practiced!” That’s why the team was so pumped too, because we executed on something that we work on all the time,” explained Henritzy.

The Northampton Division of the EPC appears to be miles better than the other two divisions. With an unbalanced schedule due to two games against each division opponent, it’s going to be a dogfight to claim postseason berths.

“We’re 3-0 but it’s still early in the season. There are things we need to work on, but I think we can hit with anybody else in the league, which is great,” stated Henritzy. “Our pitching is going to decide a lot of what goes on, but I feel good about where we’re at with that too. We can make some improvements there, so I’m pumped about that.”