Even though the Whitehall softball team is still searching for its first win, head coach Alexis Berg-Townsend sees some light at the end of the tunnel.

In a rain-shortened game against Northampton Area High School on Tuesday, she believes their effort against the Konkrete Kids can serve as a springboard in helping them get into the win column. While they lost that game 3-2, she saw enough signs from her team that better days are ahead.

That optimism is rooted in their strong effort on the hill. Kay Solderitch only allowed one hit to the Kids, but was victimized by a couple of errors. The sophomore has pitched well in many of her outings, giving her team an opportunity to win each time she's taken the ball.

That was the case Tuesday when she put up a string of goose eggs after the first, but the team ran out of innings once the game was called after the sixth inning.

Berg-Townsend said that the message so far has been consistency. The first inning has been their nemesis this season, putting them in an early hole. To date, the Zephs have allowed seven runs in the first inning through four games against Eastern Pennsylvania Conference foes.

Despite Northampton continuing that trend by plating two runs in their home half of the first, Berg-Townsend saw a stronger team emerge after that initial hiccup.

"The girls took a huge stride today, in what we've seen the last four games," said Berg-Townsend. "Even though we lost, it's a good loss."

She said she saw improvement from the first inning on, shutting down Northampton after surrendering those three first inning runs.

"We definitely made some advancements today," said Berg-Townsend.

The Zephs took an early 1-0 lead, and then added another run in the top of the fourth. Kay Solderitch was responsible for one of their two runs with a hit.

The team is treading on familiar ground. They've started off slowly the last two years, going 3-7 in both 2013 and 2014 before they rebounded to eventually qualify for the postseason.

"We know what's it's like, having been there before," said Berg-Townsend. "These kids, they're a dangerous team. They know how to play the game and they play well. We just have to figure it out."

She said they need to overcome that troublesome first inning.

"The next step for us when we go back to the drawing board is working on that first inning," said Berg-Townsend.

She said it was a different team than the one who faced Liberty yesterday, losing 6-2 to the 'Canes. They only managed to score two runs in their last at bat, preventing the shutout. Kay Solderitch had a double and triple in the loss.