The Northampton softball team overcame two rain delays, the distraction of Prom Night, and an extra inning game against the EPC Lehigh County Division winning Emmaus Hornets to claim their first district playoff game win since their title-winning season of 2022.

After a rainout on Thursday and another postponement after only a single inning was played on Friday, the two former division rivals reconvened Saturday morning to resume their quarterfinal game.

Hailey Makovsky led off the third inning with a bunt single and eventually came all the way around to score on a dropped third strike of what would have been the third out of the inning.

Emmaus tied the game in the fourth inning without a base hit. A leadoff walk led to a sacrifice fly three batters later.

The teams both added runs in the sixth inning but left runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, Northampton hurler Rylee Gable kept pace in the circle with the Lehigh Division’s first team pitcher, Mari Eiswerth. Both pitchers surrendered just three hits each over the seven regulation innings.

The sophomore spoke about the tension of pitching in the postseason, “It’s insane. It’s just so much pressure, but I love that pressure. I think it makes me work harder and I really depend on my teammates in these moments.”

The seventh inning was uneventful and the teams went to extra innings tied at 2.

The bottom of the K-Kids’ lineup has struggled to produce runs this season, but they came through in the eighth.

Laila Reichl led off with a single and two batters later, number 7 hitter Leah Regan added a base hit of her own. The runners advanced to second and third, setting up Ro Echevarria. The junior infielder looped a single over first base plating Reichl and Regan with the go ahead runs.

Echevarria described getting what became the game-winning hit, “I’ve been in a slump recently and it feels great to get out of it. I just said, ‘I’m doing it.’ That’s been our motto recently. Everything out, just doing for the team.”

Emmaus provided a bit of drama in the bottom half of the eighth when they got the tying run aboard with two outs. Gable induced a fly ball that settled harmlessly in Regan’s glove in right field and induced a celebration on the Northampton side.

“We have a young team and the last two years have kind of built to this moment,” explained head coach Kristy Henritzy. “We have a strong desire to win and you saw that in their energy. We got a spark from Ro who has been playing great defense but had been struggling hitting. Riley has worked really hard all season and she delivered today. It takes a lot of poise to be in this situation and she showed that. I’m really proud of her.”