H.S. SOFTBALL: Blue Mountain falls to Emmaus in a hard fought battle

ORWIGSBURG — Blue Mountain’s softball squad fought hard until the end but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Eagles fell to Emmaus 4-2 Friday evening.

“We like to challenge ourselves in the non-conference games,” said Blue Mountain head coach Paul Leonard. “If we can get a 6A school to come to us and play us, that helps us going into league play.”

Emmaus struck first in inning one thanks to a two-run home run by Sadie Haefeli to put the Lady Hornets up 2-0.

The Lady Hornets added another run in the third inning as Avery DeFanti singled down the left field line to make it 3-0 to bring in a Lady Hornet from second base.

Blue Mountain pitcher Emily Leonard settled down, holding the Lady Hornets scoreless in the next three innings, which helped to fire up her offense.

Blue Mountain sophomore Carla Boyer (18) hits the ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain junior Avery Hudock (4) lays down the tag as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain sophomore Addyson Fishburn (25) makes contact with the ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain freshman McKenna Manbeck (2) throws the ball to first as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain freshman Emily Leonard (24) pitches the ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain freshman Emerson Fry (33) swings for the ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Blue Mountain junior Anna Borden (7) runs beneath a fly ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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Blue Mountain sophomore Carla Boyer (18) hits the ball as Blue Mountain hosts Emmaus Friday, March 21, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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The Lady Eagles first run came in the top of the fifth inning as Emmerson Frie showed her power by crushing a solo home run to left center field on a 3-2 count to cut the Emmaus lead to 3-1.

“We started out a little slow but we did not give up,” said Leonard. “We showed a lot of grit, especially being so young.”

Blue Mountain gave their fans renewed hope in the bottom of the sixth inning. With a runner on third with two outs, Carla Boyer came up clutch when she drove a ball to right field for an RBI single to make the game 3-2.

Boyer was caught stealing second base to end the inning.

“We had a couple young mistakes,” said Leonard. “But we will clean those up, something we can learn from and take to the film room.”

Emmaus got some much needed insurance in the top of the seventh. The Lady Hornets got two on after a single by Taylor Hauver and a walk to Haefeli. DeFanti came up to bat and hit an RBI double to put the Lady Hornets up 4-2.

Leonard added a strikeout to close out the inning with Blue Mountain down two runs.

Frie flew out to start the seventh inning for Blue Mountain. Karley Koch got on base for the Lady Eagles after being hit by a pitch.

Leonard came up to bat and hit a shot to second base which was caught by Haefeli who threw it to first base to pick off Koch to secure the Emmaus win.

“Overall I am really proud of the way our kids battled,” said Leonard. “I know there are no moral victories but in my eyes I am proud of how the kids kept fighting until the bottom of the seventh.

Leonard went seven strong innings for the Lady Eagles, recording 10 strikeouts. Avery Hudock and Boyer each recorded two hits for Blue Mountain the loss.

The Lady Eagles will look to bounce back as they host Panther Valley Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Blue Mountain 2 — Fishburn CF 3 0 0 0, Hudock SS 3 1 2 0, Borden LF 3 0 0 0, Cavadini C 3 0 0 0, Boyer 1B 3 0 2 1, Frie 3B 3 1 1 1, Koch RF 2 0 0 0, Leonard P 2 0 0 0, Reilly F10 2 0 0 0

Emmaus 4 — Hauver CF 4 1 2 0, Haefeli 2B 3 2 2 2, Derr C 4 0 1 0, DeFanti 3B 4 0 3 2, Eiswerth P 4 0 1 0, Tranguch RF 4 0 1 0, King 1B 3 0 1 0, Shank 2 0 0 0, Gitski SS 3 0 0 0

BM (2-1) — 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 — 2

Emm (2-0) — 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 — 4

2B — Carla Boyer, Avery Hudock, Abigail Derr, HR — Emmerson Frie

Blue Mountain

IP H R ER BB SO

Leonard 7 11 4 4 2 10

Emmaus

Eiswerth 7 5 2 2 0 7

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H.S. SOFTBALL: Blue Mountain falls to Emmaus in a hard fought battle

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