After having eight days off because of bad weather following their loss in the Colonial League finals, Northwestern finally got back on the field only to have to come back 18 hours later and play again.

In the end, it all worked out as Northwestern defeated Bethlehem Catholic in the District 11 4A quarterfinals and then knocked out Tamaqua in the semifinals over the weekend at Patriots Park in Allentown.

In the quarterfinals, Northwestern (24-2) faced Bethlehem Catholic (5-15) and combined a key home run with a little small ball to down the Golden Hawks 11-1 in a game shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.

Abby Dunstan, whose last hit was a first-inning home run in the opening game of the Colonial League playoffs, repeated the early game heroics when she stepped to the plate for the first time and promptly homered to right field with a runner on first to give Northwestern a 2-0 lead.

Bethlehem Catholic’s Mikaila Brooks hammered a pitch from Emma Freeman over the fence to cut the lead to 2-1 in the second inning before Freeman locked in and allowed just one other hit and no runs the rest of the way.

The Tigers used three singles and a walk to produce two runs in the third with Conner and Mitman driving in runs on singles to center. Sam Boyer then dropped a bunt in front of the plate and Conner, who had singled, stole second, and moved to third on Mitman’s single, raced home to make it 5-1 in favor of Northwestern.

While Freeman was buzzing through the Hawks lineup, Northwestern continued to find its groove at the plate.

In the fourth, a one-out double by Rylee McGinley was followed by an error and back-to-back RBI singles by Dunstan and Conner to make it 7-1. With Conner on third and Mitman on second, Ainsley Behler grounded a ball to short.

Shortstop Angela Hodge threw to third to get Mitman, but Conner crossed the plate before Mitman could be tagged out at third. The play left Northwestern up 8-1 through four innings.

In the fifth Ella Bressi dragged a bunt between the pitcher and first base for an infield single. Lizzie Diehl doubled to bring in Bressi and Northwestern got RBI doubles from Freeman and Dunstan to end the game and eliminate Bethlehem Catholic.

Bright and early the next morning Northwestern was on the field at Patriots Park to play Tamaqua.

The game was scheduled early in the day to allow time for Northwestern’s seniors to transition from softball attire to gowns for Saturday night’s prom.

Tamaqua went from 3-17 in 2024 to 15-7 in 2025 and Northwestern needed a pair of rallies that were started by Diehl and capped by Conner to come from behind to defeat Tamaqua 5-4.

Diehl was hit by a pitch to start the third inning and for the second time in the game, Abby Dunstan drew a walk to reach base.

With runners on first and third, Dunstan stole second ahead of a bloop single to center field by Conner that brought home both runners for a 2-1 lead. Singles by Shelby Mitman and Ainsley Behler made it 3-1.

Tamaqua scored a run in the first and then rallied in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Nico Conohan led off with a single, moved to third on Gormley’s second hit of the game and then scored on an error. Gormley and Leah Crowley would both score on a double by Meghan Linkhorst that gave the Raiders a 4-3 lead going to the bottom of the fifth.

Tamaqua again threatened in the second, but a fantastic defensive play by Conner at short on a hard hit line drive kept the Raiders off the board and ended the inning.

“Certain times when you play a game you either feel that the odds are in your favor or they’re not in your favor,” said Northwestern head coach Kate Farber. “After that play, I looked at the girls and I said, ‘I don’t know if you believe in softball gods, but they’re with us today and we have got to pull this out,’ and we did.”

Tamaqua put a runner in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings but was unable to push across any runs.

Down by a run, Diehl became a rally starter again in the seventh when she walked and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Rylee McGinley bunted Diehl to third and a ground ball by Freeman tied the game 4-4.

“That was a big switch of momentum for us,” said Diehl. “That’s what Northwestern softball is. We always just find a way and even if we don’t, we know we are going to go down with a fight.

“We’re at a point where it’s win or go home and we’re not ready to stop playing. You have to give Tamaqua credit because they really hit the ball well, but we just weren’t ready to go home yet.”

The Raiders were careful with Dunstan throughout the game, but she found a pitch to hit with two outs and the bases empty in the seventh and singled to left field.

Conner, who had the big blow in the earlier three-run rally, lifted a long fly ball to the right field corner that one-hopped the fence and allowed Dunstan to score from first with the winning run.

“Before I went up there, I knew that I just had to stay confident and I knew I had everybody backing me up,” said Conner. “I just knew I had to perform and was able to get the bat on the ball.”

The win put Northwestern into the District 11 finals for the seventh straight season.