Based on its success over the past few seasons, the Northwestern Lehigh softball team has been the team that every other school wants to take down.

Many times, that task falls on Palmerton and the two teams have developed a rivalry.

They met recently at Patriots’ Park in Allentown to play the Colonial League championship game and unlike most of their meetings, the game was only close until the bottom of the second inning when the Tigers put seven runs on the board on their way to a 10-0 win.

Right from the start of the second inning, nothing went right for the Blue Bombers.

Northwestern’s Molly Schlofer led off the inning by reaching on a dropped third strike just ahead of a string of three straight singles by Lily Kinnon, Lizzie Diehl, and Ella Bressi to put the Tigers up 1-0.

Natalie Conner and Abby Dunstan both delivered line-drive singles with Conner’s hit bringing in two runs and Dunstan’s bringing in another to make it 4-0.

Ainsley Behler singled to reloaded the bases. A passed ball brought in another run and Schlofer, batting for the second time in the inning, dropped a single over the head of shortstop Hailey Barry and an error on the play gave the Tigers a 7-0 advantage.

Sam Boyer delivered an infield single, but George recovered and got the final out to end the rally.

Senior Emma Freeman, who got the start for Northwestern (20-3), put down Palmerton (19-4) in order in the third and Northwestern used a Palmerton error and a wild pitch to make it 8-0 through three innings.

That’s when the expected pitching duel between Freeman and George restarted. The pair battled from the circle until the bottom of the sixth inning.

George got the first out of the inning before Conner singled and Dunstan walked on four pitches. An error allowed Conner to score.

Schlofer, a senior, doubled, allowing Dunstan to come home to make it 10-0 and end the game on the 10-run rule.

“I have been looking to make good contact recently and that was the spot to do it,” said Schlofer of the game-ending hit. “It felt awesome. Coach Farber said just go up there and do what you do. She just wanted me to get contact and not worry about trying to get the run in.”

Freeman, who hadn’t started in either of the first two rounds of the league playoffs, didn’t show any signs of rust.

She allowed just one hit and one walk over six innings let her fielders do their jobs. Freeman, a senior, was glad to be back in the circle and help her team get gold.

“It felt really good. It was amazing that we were able to put up so many runs against them,” said Freeman. “It’s been a bit of a change this season (not starting every game) and it’s been a better change for our team. I think we’re stronger having Liz (Diehl) and Ainsley (Behler) and me all able to pitch.”

The two teams, whose meeting was the third between the two this season, could have a fourth encounter in the district playoffs which begin next week.

With Pine Grove defeating Blue Mountain in the Schuylkill League playoffs and Northwestern winning the Colonial League, the Tigers leapfrog over the Eagles for the top spot in the District 11 4A classification. That could be big since Northwestern and Blue Mountain met in the district finals in both 2023 and 2024 with the Eagles winning both matchups.

The game was played on Farber’s birthday, and the gold medals provided a great present from her team.

“I told my husband this morning that this could either be a great birthday or a really bad birthday,” said Farber. “It turned out to be a great birthday.”