Emmaus claimed the District 11 championship last Tuesday night at DeSales University with a 7-6 victory over Parkland.

“They came back ready to work and ready to get that next championship,” said Emmaus head coach Jeremy Haas. “They didn’t want anything less than two championships this year.”

Emmaus had a rough start as starter Braden Waller plunked Parkland’s leadoff hitter Blake Barthol with his second pitch of the game. The three hitter Bryce Ratliff got on with a walk, setting up runners on first and second. Luke Meehan then picked up a single to right which drove Barthol in and put the Trojans up by a run.

The Hornets quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning with leadoff batter Blake Schantz also reaching base after being hit by a pitch from Parkland’s Joe Algard. Jaden Gallagher followed that up with a single up the middle. Following a fielder’s choice that allowed Gallagher to advance to second, the four-hole hitter Tyler LePage hit a liner to right field, scoring Gallagher and tying up the game.

Emmaus wasn’t done though, as Waller drove Andrew O’Brien home with a sac fly to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead after one inning.

Parkland’s bats stayed quiet for the next two innings as the Trojans went down in order in the second and managed only a hit by pitch and a walk in the top half of the third.

Emmaus managed two singles in the second but was unable to push anyone across home plate.

In the third Emmaus tacked on another run and extended its lead to 3-1 with a walk from O’Brien and a single up the middle for Waller.

Parkland got that run back in the top of the fourth as Jacob Donmoyer smashed a home run off the scoreboard in left field, cutting the Emmaus lead down to one.

Emmaus’ offense then exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the fourth with every batter coming to the plate.

The Hornets saw their first six batters of the inning reach base, starting with a leadoff walk from Anthony Viola, who was then caught stealing. Schantz got things going again with a single and Gallagher walked.

O’Brien then got to work driving a liner up the middle, scoring Schantz and advancing Gallagher to second.

LePage followed that up with a grounder up the middle which scored Gallagher and moved O’Brien up to second.

After the hit Parkland’s starter Algard was pulled in favor of Owen Lehr.

Lehr walked the first batter he faced, Waller, loading the bases.

Lehr then managed to retire the next batter, but the Trojans weren’t out of the inning yet.

Dominick Chiego came up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and chopped a ball to the shortstop Barthol. Barthol’s throw to first was in the dirt and skipped past the first baseman Meehan, allowing both O’Brien and LePage to score, putting Emmaus up 7-2 after four.

Parkland had an opportunity to get some of those runs back in the fifth as Bo Barthol doubled on a fly to left field with one out. Meehan then ripped a liner to left field, but Jacob Bartholomew, the pinch runner for Barthol, was held at third. The inning ended with a loud out as center fielder Schantz tracked down a deep fly ball off the bat of Mathew Razzis for the third out.

Parkland held Emmaus in the bottom half of the inning and came roaring back in the sixth.

Jesse Ruisch started the inning with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error. Donmoyer then grounded out, driving Ruisch home and bringing Parkland within four runs.

The Trojans then had a two out rally later in the inning, started by a single from Taiki Horiguchi. Horiguchi’s single was followed by a walk from Blake Barthol and a single from Bo Barthol which loaded the bases.

Ratliff strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and came through with a single to left field, which scooted past the left fielder Gallagher, scoring all three of the base runners and bringing Parkland within a run.

This marked the end of Waller’s night as Luke Deschenes replaced him with a runner on second and two down.

“He (Waller) doesn’t have his best stuff but the best thing I can say about any pitcher is if they don’t have their best stuff and they battle for their team, there’s no greater compliment a pitcher can have,” said Haas.

The top half of the inning ended with the third baseman LePage making a diving play and a throw from one knee, robbing Meehan of a hit.

The Trojans kept the Hornets scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, keeping their chances alive for the seventh.

But Deschenes proved to be too much for Parkland in the seventh, striking out the side in order to end the game.

Emmaus picked up the win in the first round of states when it beat Governor Mifflin 2-1 in 10 innings Monday. The Hornets resume state playoff action against La Salle College Prep on Thursday in the state quarterfinals.