Emmaus softball players Hannah Palinkas, Alexis Ruth, and Maddy Clark have been named to the 2017 Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup softball tournament team.

“I heard a lot of great things about it, and I wanted to see what it was like,” said Palinkas, a sophomore pitcher.

The Carpenter Cup is a Philadelphia Phillies-sponsored tournament, which will be played the week of June 19 at FDR Field in Philadelphia. It features teams comprised of high school sophomores and juniors from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Sunday evening was Lehigh Valley’s first official practice.

“We did some hitting, went over some plays, trying to mesh together,” Palinkas said.

Coach Blake Morgan, an assistant for the Parkland softball team, is hoping to communicate three things to the Lehigh Valley players: team, community, and character.

“I think it’s important to give back,” said Morgan. “These girls play softball all along the east coast, all over the country, and that’s great, but they started here. It’s nice to travel to Philadelphia and represent here.”

Also on the Lehigh Valley roster are Rachel Arner of Whitehall, Sky Esterly, Daphney Adams, Paige Hahn, and Krista Colussi of Nazareth, Jess Indelicato and Alexa Pannucio of Bethlehem Catholic, Chelsea Morgan and Kelly Dulaney of Parkland, Heather Alich of Northampton, Dani Barnes of Southern Lehigh, and Courtney Grundhauser of Easton.

Assistant coaches are Ed Stinner, Ricky Sechler, Kyle Stinner and Jim Haney.

“I’m open to learning and hearing different input from different [coaches],” Palinkas said. “Since I’m a sophomore, I’m just looking forward to playing with all the different girls, and I’ll definitely do it again next year.”

Lehigh Valley’s first game is scheduled for June 19 at 11 a.m. against Jersey Shore.