Published June 18. 2026 11:41AM
The Emmaus softball team won its first District 11 playoff game of 2026 last week with an 8-2 victory over Liberty in the quarterfinal round.
Emmaus, the No. 2 seed in Class 6A, had a bye into quarterfinals. The No. 7 seed Hurricanes beat No. 10 Pocono Mountain West 8-0 in the first round.
In the quarterfinal, the Hornets scored a pair of runs in the first inning and three more in each of the third and fourth innings for an 8-0 lead. Both Liberty runs came in the sixth inning.
Four Hornets had two hits each in the win.
Brianna Gitski went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. She also reached base on a walk. Sydney Bennett went 2-for-3 while also walking once and scoring twice. Morgan Schwab and Taylor Hauver each went 2-for-4 and scored a run apiece.
Three Hornets knocked in two runs each in the win, including Julia DeFanti, Calise Eiswerth and Gitski.
Mari Eiswerth pitched all seven innings for Emmaus and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine batters and walking two.
The Hornets advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal round to face No. 3 seed Stroudsburg. The winner will meet either No. 1 Freedom or No. 5 Northampton in Thursday’s district final at 7 p.m. at Pates Park.
PRESS PHOTO BY MARK LINEBERGERJulia DeFanti knocked in a pair of runs during the Hornet’s district playoff win over Liberty.
PRESS PHOTO BY MARK LINEBERGERMorgan Schwab had a pair of hits last week in the Hornets’ district quarterfinal win.
PRESS PHOTO BY MARK LINEBERGERTaylor Hauver tracks down a deep fly ball during last week’s win over Liberty in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 playoffs.
