Bethlehem Catholic’s softball team boasts arguably the best offense in the Lehigh Valley.

The Golden Hawks scored double-digit runs in five of their last six games heading into the May 14 East Penn Conference quarterfinal at Northampton.

The K-Kids have arguably the area’s best defense.

In their nine-game winning streak to end the regular season, Northampton posted six shutouts, including one over Becahi on April 26.

In the battle of offense vs. defense on Monday afternoon, offense prevailed.

After five scoreless innings, the Golden Hawks’ bats came alive for three runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to capture a 6-1 victory. Becahi advanced to play Liberty in the semifinals.

Sophomore Madison Fraley smacked a solo home run to give the K-Kids a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.

After sophomore starting pitcher Madison Biechy escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the fifth inning, the K-Kids seemed poised for another narrow victory.

Becahi’s Alyssa Jimenez led off the sixth inning with a single. Sacrifice bunt attempts by Natasha Miner and Julia Sledz each resulted in singles, which loaded the bases with no one out.

Alexa Panuccio and Morgan Christine each ripped RBI singles to break the game open for the Golden Hawks.

Northampton senior Heather Alich went 2-for-3 with two singles in the contest. Junior Hannah Boggs went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk.

Despite the early exit from the league playoffs, the K-Kids still have lofty goals ahead. Northampton is projected to be the No. 3 seed in next week’s District XI playoffs.

At the time of Press deadlines, Liberty and Becahi were trying to get in their EPC semifinal game to earn the right to advance to the finals and take on Parkland.

The finals are scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Pates Park in Allentown. It’s part of a doubleheader that features the Colonial League finals being played before at 5 p.m.