Emmaus advances to District 11 4A softball semis after posting 6-2 win over Whitehall

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Emmaus struck for five runs in the third inning to take a 6-1 lead and went on to post a 6-2 win over Whitehall in the District 11 4A softball quarterfinals at Pates Park on Friday. Emmaus (15-6) will play Northampton in the semis on Tuesday night at 7.Emmaus won the regular season meeting between those two teams by an 8-7 score in 9 innings. Emmaus beat Whitehall 4-0 earlier in the season, but this was a much more offensive game, at least early. After the two teams exchanged runs in the first inning, the Green Hornets took control of the game in the bottom of the third when 10 hitters came to the plate. Anna Snyder and Miryah Palko got the inning started with singles and then back-to-back errors ensued followed by a wild pitch. Morgan Patterson and Liz Natiello capped the inning with RBI singles. Whitehall was able to get a run back in the fourth on an error, but Olivia Marcks relieved starter Rachel Brown and shut the door. She stranded two on base in the fourth and then didn't allow a hit over the last three innings. Natiello had two hits and Snyder and Palko had three hits apiece for Emmaus, which outhit the Zephs 9-3. In other district games: Northampton beat Pleasant Valley 2-1, Liberty beat Pocono Mountain East 4-3 in 4A and Palmerton beat Catasauqua 5-1 in a 2A game. More scores to come.