If one were to list the best local high school baseball games of the regular season, it’s possible that number-two would be Emmaus’ 3-1 win over Parkland early in the season.

The top game would have to be the 1-0 Emmaus win over Parkland in 16 innings in a rematch of the two teams at Community Park. That made the third go-around, in the semifinals of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs that much more interesting.

The third showdown between the two teams wasn’t exactly a classic. The big defensive plays that Emmaus (15-6) used in the two previous games were nonexistent and both physical and mental miscues led to a 7-3 loss for Emmaus that eliminated them from the league playoffs, which Parkland (16-7) went on to win.

“It was a difficult loss,” said Emmaus head coach Mike Mihalik. “When you lose to a team because they outplay you, that’s one thing. But when you make a lot of physical errors and mental errors and hand them the game, that’s a different thing,” said coach Mike Mihalik. “We didn’t work this hard in the preseason and all season long to start handing teams a game. That’s how a lot of them felt afterwards. It was the first time all year where I saw them 24-hours later and they looked like they were still bothered by it.”

While the loss ended Emmaus’ chance at a conference championship, the Hornets still can reach their goal of winning a championship in the District 11 Playoffs, and Mihalik believes his team will bounce back. Emmaus is the number-six seed and will travel to Northampton to play the Konkrete Kids Wednesday at 4:30. The division rivals met twice during the regular season, with Northampton sweeping the series with a 10-4 win at Community Park and a 6-1 win at home.

“We need to play a cleaner game,” said Mihalik. “When I say that, I’m pretty much referencing the defensive standpoint. We’ve got to make the routine plays and when they bunt, we need to get an out. That’s the main thing that I take away from the two games.

“We’ve also got to do a much better job of hitting. I’m expecting to see the same pitcher for a third time, so I’m expecting to see our boys step up and do what they should do at the plate.”

Emmaus faced senior pitcher Kyle Serman in both regular season games against Northampton and Mihalik figures that they’ll see him again in the quarterfinal game this afternoon. Serman has been tough on Emmaus hitters, but Mihalik hopes for a turn around.

“We know what we’re getting, assuming they throw him, and we know what he throws, so it’s just sort of a comfort zone,” he said. “There aren’t any questions or mysteries about this kid, it’s just up to us to get the job done. Our boys should be able to handle the expectations and the pressure, and we’re not going to see mediocre pitching for the rest of the year, so this is going to be a challenge. We know what we’re getting, the kid beat us twice, so if we step up and do what we should be capable of doing, he won’t beat us again,” said Mihalik.

Mihalik has warned his players that the rest of the season is going to be a tough battle, but that they are capable of handling anything that their opponents are going to bring to the game. The team has turned the page mentally from its loss in the EPC playoffs and is refocused on the goal of a championship in 2017. The real turnaround begins by playing a better fundamental game against Northampton.

“They’re going to challenge us, and if we make those same mistakes that we made against Parkland, it’s not going to end well,” said Mihalik. “We’ve learned from those mistakes, and I hope that mentally they’re in the right frame of mind to clean up some of those plays. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, then we’ll be advancing.”