Things didn’t start well for the Lady Hornets against Northampton in Monday’s softball match-up at Pate’s Park in Allentown. On the first pitch of the game from CC Wippel, Northampton’s Hallie Muffley launched the pitch deep over the fence, just to the left of center field to give the Kids a 1-0 lead. When all was said and done, Northampton (9-4, 10-6) picked up a 5-1 win over Emmaus (5-7, 7-9).

That first inning could have gone much worse, as Northampton came out swinging, but the Emmaus defense buckled down to hold Northampton to just one run in the inning.

Northampton pitcher Taylor Keeney, held Emmaus to just three hits, two of which came from Miranda O’Donald. The big blow came from Erin Schmick, who took a pitch from Keeney and lifted it out to left field in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Keeney was able to keep the Emmaus offense, which has struggled at times lately, at bay throughout the game.

“We just didn’t battle well at the plate,” said coach John Eyer. “We swung at some balls that we shouldn’t have. We’ve seen her [Keeney] enough and know what she throws, but she just kept us off balance.”

Northampton got another run off Wippel in the fifth and went to work again in the sixth against the sophomore right-hander. With two outs in the inning, Eyer went to the bullpen and brought in Hannah Palinkas with runners on first and third and two outs. Muffley picked up her third hit of the day, a two-run single to make it a 5-1 ball game.

“I think CC threw a good game, actually,” said Eyer. “That first pitch and the home run really didn’t hurt, because we came back and scored on them. She started that one inning and I pulled her because we were coming back to the top of the order and I wanted them to see somebody different rather than seeing her three or four times.”

Eyer also credited his defense, especially his outfield defense, for helping to keep the game close. All three outfielders – Alexis Ruth, O’Donald, and Jocelyn Kelly – came up with big plays to help Wippel avoid further damage.

“Our outfielders did a great job,” said Eyer. “Our defense is much better this year. Early in the season, our bats were really going, but they’ve slowed down now. We’ve got to get back to that and it’s just a matter of putting everything together.”

Emmaus has its backs against the wall, needing to win three of its final four games to make district playoffs. The final stretch begins with a home game against Parkland (10-3, 11-3) Wednesday followed by games at Whitehall (10-1, 12-2) and Nazareth (7-5, 7-7) . The season wraps up on May 10 when the Lady Hornets celebrate senior day by hosting Central Catholic (4-8, 4-9) at Pate’s Park.

“It’s just the way it is,” Eyer said about the latest loss and where it leaves his team. “The thing is, we didn’t capitalize on anything we could do.

“We hit the ball, but not hard and it was right at people, and that hurts. We had people on, but just couldn’t move them. We had opportunities, but just didn’t capitalize and that’s what it comes down to.”