K-Kids ditch the drama this time
Whitehall proves no match for Northampton
When Northampton played Whitehall for the 2021 District 11 6A softball championship, it was a late-night thriller.
The Konkrete Kids led 4-1 entering the top of the seventh inning, only to see the Zephyrs rally for three runs to tie it. But Northampton answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh for an exciting 5-4 win.
In a rematch Thursday night, the K-Kids ditched the drama for dominance.
Scoreless through the three innings, Northampton exploded for 10 runs over the next three. The K-Kids scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth and got a walk-off, two-run homer by Angela Fisher to invoke the mercy rule and celebrate a 10-0 victory for the program’s second straight district title and seventh overall.
The only reason it was a late night this time was Northampton’s family and friends, including a large student section, mobbed the Patriots Park infield to stage an impromptu celebration party that lasted for at least a half-hour after Fisher’s home run.
“It feels great,” Fisher said. “The moment it came off the bat, it felt great. I had confidence going into the box and just gave it my all.”
So did the entire K-Kids lineup, which combined for 12 hits, with five coming in a nine-batter sixth.
Lily Stuhldreher started it with a single, pinch hitter Kaitlyn Renson walked and Hannah Makovsky doubled in a run. Rilee Ehrlacher, a spark plug atop the order with three hits, doubled in two more.
Whitehall relief pitcher Lennon Dreisbach was able to get two outs, but the Zephyrs couldn’t get it to the seventh.
Winning pitcher Kaira Zamadics singled in two before Fisher sent everyone home.
The 10-0 margin wasn’t expected, especially since it was 0-0 through three innings.
“We just always keep our energy up,” Fisher said. “There’s
no matching the environment we bring and we all kind of feed off each other.”
Whitehall had 16 hits in its win over Parkland, but there was no feeding frenzy for the Zephyrs two nights later. Zamadics, who is headed to Shippensburg University along with Ehrlacher, allowed just one hit and it was to the first batter of the game.
Emma Bonshak led off with a booming double and got to third on a groundout but wouldn’t score.
Zamadics walked six but stranded a pair on base twice. She also recorded six strikeouts and was backed by an error-free defense.
Zamadics said Tuesday that she loved the heat, and while it was much cooler two nights later she brought the heat to the pitching circle.
“Compared to Tuesday night, the heat wasn’t as bad tonight,” she said. “But it was something that kind of kept me going. It felt good.”
Zamadics had two hits, walked once and drove in three runs. Even when it was scoreless, she wasn’t too worried.
“Coach always focuses on what we’ve seen in previous games, and we know [Kassy Aquino, Whitehall’s starting pitcher] likes to work
the outside corner and has a really good changeup,” Zamadics said. “So that’s what we really worked on at practice. We worked on keeping our weight back on that changeup and staying off the outside pitch.”
Held to just one hit through the first 11 batters and three innings, Northampton started clicking in the fourth for three hits and scored on Lily Stuhldreher’s RBI single. They tacked on two in the fifth on RBI hits by Taylor Kranzley and Zamadics, and the onslaught was just beginning.
Northampton (24-2) was expected to be the area’s best team this season, coming back with many key returnees from last year’s 6A champs.
Some teams fold under the weight of vast expectations, but Zamadics said earlier this season that “pressure is a privilege” and she and her teammates didn’t mind having the target on their backs.
“People wanted to beat us and we did have that target, but we never just went out there thinking we were the best,” Zamadics said. “We kept ourselves grounded and that’s what really helped us.
“We wanted to show up at the field and play a really good game of softball.”
For Whitehall (16-8) it wasn’t a good night.
The Zephyrs, who knocked off Eastern Pennsylvania Conference champ and top-seeded Parkland in Tuesday’s semifinals, just couldn’t sustain the momentum and fell for the third straight year in the district finals.
“We knew they were a good team and you have to give them credit,” said first-year Whitehall coach Jeff Vivian. “Coming off that emotional win we had on Tuesday, we just couldn’t muster that bedlam. We just couldn’t get that one hit to give us a shot in the arm and that energy to go after it.
“We started the game with a double, and maybe if we score there it gives us the legs and the momentum. But [Zamadics] pitched out of jams and they seemed to get timely hits.”
Both teams advance to the state tournament that begins Monday.
Whitehall will play District 1 champ and perennial power North Penn (23-1). The Knights beat the only team to beat them this year, Pennsbury, 5-2 in Thursday’s district championship game.
Northampton will play District 1’s No. 5 seed, either Garnet Valley or Quakertown.
Regardless of what happens Monday, Northampton was looking forward to a joyous graduation ceremony Friday night.
“One of the umpires asked me ‘Are they always this much fun?’ and I said ‘Yes’ because I have been coaching many of them for four years,” K-Kids coach Kristy Henritzy said. “I am going to be a mess saying goodbye to them, but I’m also excited because they’re so great and they’re going to do amazing things.”