While their opponents from Blue Mountain High School were going through infield practice Saturday, the Lady Hornets were having a sing along around their bench. Perhaps they want to add the ‘80s girl’s anthem Girls Just Want to Have Fun to their playlist. The song may be too outdated for them, but it’s really what their team is all about this season.

“We’re just here to have fun and that’s a really big part of it,” said second baseman Cassie Burke. “That really contributes to how we’re playing this year and trying not to be too hard on ourselves and just have a good time with it, because if you’re having fun, then you’re able to relax and play your game.

“We’re really like a family, and we’re really connected and trust one another. We’re really able to work together as a team and we love each other so much.”

The approach is definitely working, with the team off to a 5-1 start in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and a 6-1 start overall this season. Emmaus beat Blue Mountain 12-2 via the mercy rule on Saturday, and then came back Monday with a loudly voiced statement win over previously unbeaten Nazareth, pounding the Blue Eagles 13-2.

In the last week, Emmaus has bounced back from a 6-2 loss to Parkland (5-0, 7-0) to win four straight by a combined score of 42-5, including the win over Nazareth (5-1, 7-1) and another impressive win over Whitehall (3-1, 6-1). The win over the Zephyrs came a day after the disappointing loss to Parkland, showing how resilient – and fun – this team truly is.

“We’ve put a lot of work into this,” said Burke. “I feel like when we come to practice, we play like it’s a game and we practice really hard and we’re working hard six days a week, so I think it’s really paying off and it’s definitely not a surprise.”

Emmaus is clicking on all cylinders right now, with big hitting, strong pitching and a defense that isn’t giving opponents extra outs.

“I don’t want to say that I’m surprised, but it’s good to see,” said Emmaus head coach John Eyer. “That’s what’s helping us right now. Our defense is doing well and our offense is doing well, so the whole game clicks together for us and we’ve just got to keep that going. I told them, ‘if you keep hitting the ball the way you’ve been hitting the ball, nobody can stop you.’ We’ve had good base running too, so it’s been good.”

Hannah Palinkas was perfect through the first four innings against Nazareth on Monday and allowed just one hit in the game. Against Blue Mountain, she allowed just one hit through three innings before departing in favor of Megan Purinton. Palinkas has been a big part of Emmaus’ resurgence this season, but she also has some arms to back her up.

“She hadn’t pitched in a few days, so we really wanted to get her the start [against Blue Mountain] in advance of Monday against Nazareth,” said Eyer. “She did really well. She only gave up that one hit and then Megan came in and did well. To me, it’s good to see, because we also have Maddie [Clark], who pitched well against Dieruff, so it’s good to see that we have those backup pitchers that we need.”

The winning has also allowed Eyer a luxury that he hasn’t had in the past few seasons, which is to get younger players into games to get them some experience. What he’s finding is that those younger players are turning in some nice performances and having their own sort of fun.

Claire Quigg and Lily Trexler both came off the bench against Blue Mountain and picked up two hits, with Trexler scoring two runs and delivering a one-out triple in the third inning.

“It’s nice to see, because the last game they got in and produced, and this game they really got in and produced,” said Eyer. “It’s really good to see that we have the ability to bring people off the bench and produce for us, because that’s really going to be important down the road.”

Emmaus faces Parkland again Monday at Kiwanis Field in Emmaus.