Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh found themselves unable to put any runs on the board through three innings of their Colonial League semifinal game, but they both notched out a run in the fourth. An inning later Northwestern (18-1) broke the game open with a two-out rally and went on to win 5-2.
Down 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Kylie Zentz singled and promptly stole second, putting her in scoring position for Brynn Balliet who doubled to left to tie the game. Sage Toman, a freshman, then singled to bring home courtesy runner Novalie Duffy-Slemmer and Morgan Farthing followed with a home run to center to put the Lady Tigers up 5-2.
“We were all picking each other up,” said Farthing, the team’s shortstop. “I don’t think we had many errors tonight. Sam (Sisco) played a great second base and had a lot of key plays and Brynn pitched a great game. I think on both sides we did great and we need to continue that for the whole season.”
Farthing helped the Tigers to tie the game in the fourth when she used her speed and hustled for a double with one out in the inning. Marissa Christman followed with an RBI single, knotting the game 1-1 after Southern Lehigh (13-8) scored the game’s first run in the top of the inning on a solo home run from Holly Walter. The Lady Spartans again went ahead in the top of the fourth, taking another short-lived one run lead on a sacrifice fly by Rylee Hobel.
The home run by Farthing was her seventh of the season, giving her the team lead over Mitman, who has six home runs on the year. As a team, Northwestern Lehigh has 27 home runs this season. Mitman and Farthing have also contributed to the team’s 40 stolen bases this season with Mitman having swiped 11 bases and Farthing having committed 10 thefts.
On the mound, Balliet allowed two earned runs on six hits, issuing four walks and striking out four Southern Lehigh batters to get the win. Balliet is now 14-0 with a 2.79 ERA on the season and has struck out 79 batters in 82 innings. Emily Schlegel came on in relief in the fourth inning for the Spartans and took the loss, giving up the home run to Farthing.
“I really think that it was a momentum thing,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Zimmerman. “The girls responded, kept it going and we were able to scratch a couple of runs across in that inning (the fourth) and that was what we needed.”
The Tigers come into the championship game with a 12-game winning streak after dropping their only game of the season to Palmerton back on April 10. Meanwhile, the Slaters last lost in their season opener when they fell to Northwestern in a 5-2 game, giving them an 18-game winning streak. Bangor last won the Colonial League in 2017, while Northwestern Lehigh has not been crowned as a league champion since 2006.