It might not have been to the bitter end.

But it was close.

Weatherly held off a late rally from Panther Valley Saturday to pick up a critical 6-5 Schuylkill League Division 3 win and stay in the hunt for a district playoff berth with a handful of games remaining.

“They played pretty good, but you could see, (if) you make one mistake, it kind of opens it up,” said Weatherly head coach Will Bartel. “But they bailed each other out.”

The Wreckers (7-8, 3-7) built an early lead, a cushion they needed when the Panthers put in a late surge with three runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Chloe Miller ripped a triple to right field to score a run and cut Panther Valley’s deficit to 6-3.

Lyddia Malaska dropped a two-out single into right field that scored Miller. Malaska scored on a two-strike infield hit by Faith Drumbore to make it a one-run game.

But starter Hailey Wenner, who struck out 11, got her biggest out on a force play at second base to end the game.

“It’s nice, it’s part of softball to play a close game,” said Weatherly catcher Shannon Frye, the Lehigh Valley Health Network Player of the Game. “Everyone has great sportsmanship, everyone’s a great player. It’s just nice to play with this group of girls.”

Frye led the way for a defense that made clutch plays throughout the game.

The Wreckers used a rundown, with a runner caught between second and third, to end the top of the third inning, and again to end the sixth, with a runner hung up between third base and home plate.

Frye, who also doubled and scored twice, made a highlight reel play on her own in the fifth, popping up from her stance to snag a foul ball off the bat of Megan Pascoe just in front of the fence of the Panthers’ dugout to end the inning with a runner at second base and Weatherly ahead 6-2.

“We had our catcher (Frye) make a crazy catch, throw a couple runners out, and they had a couple rundowns they executed,” said Bartel. “We got some runs early … and we needed every single one of them.”

A two-run single from Corra Chincola highlighted a three-run first for Weatherly. The Wreckers increased their lead to 5-0 in the third inning.

Chincola finished with three hits, while Khadijah Zuberi scored two runs and walked twice.

The Panthers (6-9, 2-8) slowly dug out of the hole, getting an RBI double from Sydney Clouser (three hits) that scored Miller in the top of the fifth to make it 5-1.

After Hailey Wenner singled to score Frye to push Weatherly’s lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Claire Kokinda drove in Sarah Markovich in the top of the sixth to answer for the Panthers and make it 6-2.

“We got them quick, and then our lineup kind of went to sleep, and then it came up again,” Bartel said.

Like the Wrecker bats, Wenner also was able to answer in crunch time. After giving up back-to-back singles to open the game, she finished the top of the first inning with three straight strikeouts, something that set the tone for a gutsy performance.

“You gotta make the plays, and do what you can,” said Wenner, who had two hits.

“She’s a great pitcher, too,” added Frye. “I wouldn’t look half as good as I do without her pitching to me.”

Backed up by Frye and a solid defense, Wenner and the Wreckers made the plays they needed to when it mattered most.

“Hailey’s a good pitcher,” said Bartel. “She pitches to contact, and good hitters are gonna hit; you saw that. They have a couple of good hitters, and if you miss your spot, they make you pay.

“When you have the opportunity to get an out, a pop fly, or a groundball, you have to make those plays. We have to execute and make the plays, and I think my girls can do that. We can play with a lot of teams, and I’m very happy with how they played today.”

SPLIT … Panther Valley won the first meeting against Weatherly, 6-2, on April 10.

HITTERS … Miller and Robin Krajcir had two hits apiece for the Panthers.

Panther Vy. 000 011 3 - 5 12 1

Weatherly 302 010 x - 6 8 3

Pascoe and Drumbore; Wenner and Frye. W - Wenner. L - Pascoe.