Parkland’s early 3-1 lead was in jeopardy in the third inning Tuesday evening at Coca-Cola Park.

Emmaus had runners at the corners with no outs and some of its best hitters heading to the plate.

Trojan pitcher Sawyer Marstellar got out of the jam with three straight strike outs. He fanned the third through fifth batters in the Hornet line up to preserve his team’s lead en route to an 8-1 win that keeps the Trojans unbeaten in the East Penn Conference.

“That’s what pitching in high school is all about – the mental toughness to not fold there,” said Parkland head coach Kurt Weber. “A lot of times in today’s world its all about velocity and a lot of different things. But heart and character are what’s most important to me. He’s a competitor. I knew he would battle for us. He’s a guy that will always keep you in the game.”

Parkland jumped in front early in the game.

Leadoff hitter Tsubasa Magota started the bottom of the first with a single. A two-out single from Carter DeLong drove in a pair of runs for an early 2-0 lead.

Emmaus got a run in the top of the second inning before Parkland’s Aiden Henning hit an RBI single to restore his team’s two-run lead at 3-1 through two innings.

Parkland’s discipline at the plate led to six walks in the game, all off starter Cole Moreau, who went 4 innings and allowed four hits, three runs (two earned) and struck out five batters.

Connor Horwath took the mound for Emmaus in the fifth and Parkland quickly extended its lead.

Singles from DeLong, Magota and Henning, along with an Emmaus error and a hit batter, led to four Parkland runs and a 7-1 lead.

The Trojans capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth when Ben Weninger reached base on a one-out single and scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Marstellar.

Magota, who is batting a team-high .514 this season, led the Trojan offense with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

“He’s been a catalyst for us,” said Weber. “We’re trying to get some of our small ball and our running game going. He’s a guy you want up there to make a pitcher work. He’s a guy that’s been really good for us hitting the ball, getting on base and he’s a danger when he gets on base.”

Henning (2-for-3, 3 RBI, 2 runs) and DeLong (2-for-3, 2 RBI, run) also had multiple hits for the Trojans.

Marstellar allowed five hits over five innings while striking out seven Hornets and issuing no walks.

Getting out of the third-inning jam fueled the senior for the rest of the game.

“I was pretty fired up after it,” Marstellar said. “My only goal was to get out of the inning without allowing any runs. Mindset was just execute my pitches and don’t let them touch it.”

Dempsey Lawson finished off the final two innings while allowing one hit and three walks but striking out five batters and keeping the Hornets scoreless.

“This is a rivalry game every year, Coca-Cola Park game,” said Magota. “We were really locked in. It was a huge win for the rest of the season, EPC and districts.”

Parkland (9-3 overall, 8-0 EPC) leads the EPC Lehigh Division by two games over Whitehall (8-4, 7-2) with Allen (10-3, 6-3), Central Catholic (7-3, 6-3) and Emmaus (6-5, 6-3) all looking up at the Trojans.

In the race for the top seed in the league playoffs, Northampton Division leader Liberty (7-4, 6-2) and Monroe leader Pocono Mountain East (7-4, 6-3) look to be the top challengers from outside the loaded Lehigh Division.

Parkland is scheduled to meet Allen (April 22), Whitehall (April 24) and Central Catholic (April 28) in consecutive games over six days.