Lehigh Bethlehem’s Cole Collins stood in the batters box and swung at a first pitch that sailed into right center field and dropped for a dramatic 7-6 Lehigh Valley Senior Connie Mack walk-off over Southern Lehigh in the championship final on July 19 at Lehigh Bethlehem.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words right now,” Collins said. “In the moment, I’m kind of breathless. I jumped on it real quick. I didn’t want to get behind in the count because [PK Thompson] had a lot of off-speed pitches, so he threw me a fastball, and I just swung at it. I watched [the outfielder] dive for it, I saw him drop it, and then I kind of stopped running, and I saw everyone run out of the dugout, and they all just dog piled. It was fun.”

Colin Panik crossed home plate for the winning run after hitting a two-out double to left center field that tied the game.

“I definitely wanted to have that at bat. I’d been seeing the ball well lately, so I figured I could get it done,” Panik said. “There’s a lot of pressure. You don’t want to let your teammates down is really what it is, so I could hear all of them over there, cheering and doing their best to help me out in the box. I think I had two strikes on me, and I figured some type of breaking ball was coming, so that’s what I was looking for. A lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotions going through. I was just going crazy, really.”

Ezerett Frack, running for Brayden Kashner who drew a walk, took off from second base to score the tying run, keeping Lehigh Bethlehem alive.

“I saw the third baseman deep, and he was kind of sleeping a little bit, so Coach didn’t give me a sign or anything, I just decided to take off, and [Colin] happened to hit it right there, so that probably messed up the third baseman because I was in front of him,” said Frack. “Once that ball went through, I went home, and I was just filled with excitement because that was the tying run. I was ready because I hadn’t played all game, so I was happy. I was quicker and got the job done.”

Lehigh Bethlehem led, 5-1, after six full innings, but Southern Lehigh took over in the top of the seventh, 6-5.

“I was trying to mix a fastball, curveball with (starting pitcher) Xavier (Ryan) because they’d already seen him, and they didn’t see (reliever) Willie (Cruz) yet, but in that last inning, I was just trying to get strikes over the plate there,” said Lehigh Bethlehem catcher Kashner. “I started mixing in some curveballs because he couldn’t find the zone with the fastball.”

Southern Lehigh loaded the bases on walks, and Mason Jayne and PK Thompson knocked in two runs before Braden Greenawald’s 2 RBI single to right center field plated the go-ahead run.

“It’s hard not to be human or emotional about giving up five runs in the seventh,” said Lehigh Bethlehem manager Paul Erfle. “I went out there feeling like we still had a chance. We only had to get one run, and we had two, three, four up. The tough thing was my son (Andrew Erfle) went up and had a called third strike, so now we’re down to two outs, but I still felt confident.

“I can’t say enough about Colin Panik. He, throughout the entire season, has come up with big hits, and then Cole Collins comes up and ropes that ball, probably one of the deepest balls we had all night. Cole’s another great kid, and he just did what he had to do, and to have that moment, he’s gonna remember that the rest of his life.”

Southern Lehigh scored the game’s first run in the top of the first inning, but Ryan got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second with a strikeout and a ground out fielded by Cruz at shortstop.

A walk to Kashner tied the game in the third, and Cruz replaced Ryan on the mound in the fourth for three straight outs.

Southern Lehigh’s Parker Grady took over pitching duties from Dominic Ruggeri in the bottom of the fourth and forced three straight strikeouts after giving up two hits.

In the bottom of the sixth, Brady Heffernan scored on Ryan’s RBI infield single, Collins was intentionally walked, and David Dunham’s walk forced in the third run for Lehigh Bethlehem.

Joel Schreckinger was safe on a fielder’s choice, and with two outs, Will Cresci delivered an RBI to left center field.

“I was just settling down and kept my cool, and when I got in the box, I felt motivation from my teammates, and I’d like to thank them,” Cresci said. “I watched it for a second, and I saw it land there. It felt great.”

Cruz’s RBI down the left field line gave Lehigh a 5-1 lead.

“We’ve been in these situations all year, and we came through when it mattered,” said Collins, “and we did the same thing here.”

Lehigh Bethlehem’s Senior Connie Mack team roster includes Andrew Erfle, Brady Heffernan, Brayden Kashner, Cole Collins, Colin Panik, David Dunham, Ezerett Frack, Jayden Froehlich, Joel Schreckinger, Will Cresci, Willie Cruz, Xavier Ryan, Braden Beck, Daniel Alcantara, Mason Hawk, Ryan Smith, and Xaviel Minaya.

Lehigh Bethlehem’s manager is Paul Erfle, and assistant coaches are Dave Cresci, Jake Collins, and Gordy Frack.

Lehigh Bethlehem will take its record of 20-0 into the Pennsylvania State Connie Mack Tournament, scheduled to begin on July 26 at Limeport Stadium in Coopersburg.

Southern Lehigh, whose only two losses came from Lehigh Bethlehem, will also compete in the tournament.