The Northwestern Middle School softball team took the field for 12 games this season. And 12 times the Lady Tigers walked off as victors.

Led by a group of six returners, including four starters from a 2016 team that finished 14-2 a year ago, Northwestern went a perfect 13-0 under head coach Heather Hartman this past spring.

It continued a successful trend after the Lady Tigers’ accomplishments last year in their inaugural season playing at the junior high level.

“We were undefeated on the season,” Hartman said. “For the junior high level, they do not have playoffs or any sort of championship. However, we joked as a team that we were the self-proclaimed junior high Colonial League softball champions.”

On the field there was no joking for the Lady Tigers. It was all business.

In the final two weeks of the season, Northwestern faced its toughest tests of the 2017 campaign. It took extra innings but the Lady Tigers were able to outlast Northern Lehigh. They then defeated the lone other unbeaten squad in the Colonial League.

“It truly was a total team effort having an undefeated season,” Hartman said. “They picked each other up on the field. The second-last week of the season they were really tested, winning a close 9-8 game over Northern Lehigh in eight innings, and the next day we traveled to face Bangor, another team who was undefeated at the time, and beat them 10-2.”

Shortstop Ali Lister, center fielder Molly Mitman, pitcher Maddie Santana and outfielder/designated player Adana Funk all played key leadership roles as second-year starters under Hartman.

Those four anchored a group that suited up 12 eighth graders and four seventh graders.

Santana was the ace on the mound for Northwestern, striking out 82 batters and finishing with a 2.75 ERA. Brynn Balliet saw action in five games to round out a unit that allowed just 41 runs in 12 games.

“The returning starters really stepped up this season,” Hartman said. “They set the tone both on and off the field. The younger girls and newcomers looked to them for guidance and leadership.”

The Lady Tigers were just as impressive offensively. As a team Northwestern batted .506 and scored 176 runs. Morgan Farthing batted a team-high .711. Balliet came in second at .667. Kylie Zentz (.625) eclipsed the .600 mark as well. Ella Carson batted .552.

Carson (third baseman) and Zentz (outfielder), along with third baseman Sam Sisco, are all newcomers to the school district within the past couple of years.

Their additions have fit it almost effortlessly, along with three first-year players in seventh graders Olivia Stofflet, Balliet and Farthring.

In addition to all of the talent, Hartman realizes that much of the Lady Tigers’ success came from being mentally focused on the dirt. Rarely did Northwestern give away any plays due to carelessness. It’s a trait Hartman learned during her time at Northwestern when it won the league championship.

“We know what it takes to win this game and want to instill that knowledge in these girls at a younger age,” Hartman said. “I’m a big believer that softball is 80 percent mental. You always need to be thinking if the ball is hit to me, what do I do? We focus on smart, heads-up base running and controlling the things we can control.”

Hartman expects some of her eighth graders to move onto the varsity stage next year. But with the group she returns, she expects to have another solid season at the junior high ranks in 2018.