ALLENTOWN - Isabelle Akelaitis’ carefree mentality in the batters box paid off with a walk-off RBI single that gave Northwestern Lehigh a 4-3 victory over Bethlehem Catholic in the District 11 Class 4A softball semifinals Thursday at Patriots Park.

“It’s two outs, (the count) is 3-0, either I’m swinging or I’m not, but I took a deep breath, and I said, ‘I can do it. Let’s just relax. If she scores, she scores. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose,’” Akelaitis said after delivering her game-winning hit.

The Tigers trailed, 3-2, heading to the bottom of the seventh inning when pinch hitter Elizabeth Diehl knocked a double to center field and advanced to third base on a single by Rylee McGinley.

Diehl scored on a passed ball to tie the game. With two outs and McGinley on second base, Akelaitis drove in the game winner.

“I put my arms up in the air, and I started running towards my team, screaming,” said Akelaitis. “I was really happy.”

Marissa Christman’s RBI triple to right field put the Tigers on the scoreboard first, and Abby Dunstan’s follow-up RBI gave Northwestern a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

“Definitely, that first hit got the momentum going for us,” Christman said. “When I don’t think about anything when I hit, it goes how I want it to go, so the more simply I think about things, the better it ends up.”

Hailey Pyle belted a home run to center field in the fourth to put the Golden Hawks on the board. The Hawks then loaded the bases with no outs, but Northwestern pitcher Peyton Neumoyer struck out Becahi’s next two batters before Brooklyn Miller’s RBI single tied the game, 2-2.

Emma Freeman came on in relief of Neumoyer in the sixth inning and recorded three straight outs.

In the top of the seventh, Becahi shortstop Sophia Rivera’s RBI single scored Leah Chladny, and the Hawks took their first lead of the game, 3-2.

“Toward the end there, we had the edge, and then, I don’t know,” said Becahi coach Rich Mazza. “They’re a good team, and we beat them twice in playoffs, so I’m sure they wanted to beat us. It was a good game. We played hard.”

The victory puts the Tigers in the district final where, win or lose, a berth in state playoffs is guaranteed.

“We knew we were going to have to play some good defense, and we played pretty solid in the field and were able to make some extraordinary plays, so people that were here got treated to a great game. I’m super proud of the girls’ effort,” said Northwestern coach Josh Zimmerman.

Dunstan saved a run when she tagged out Kristal Torres at home plate in the fourth inning. In the sixth inning, Shelby Mitman made a diving catch at first base, and the Tigers tagged Sarah Banko out in a rundown.

“You’ve got to play this game one inning at a time, and they know if we win the majority of these innings, we’re going to be just fine and come out on top more often than not,” Zimmerman said. “My hat goes off to Lizzy Diehl, coming in and starting that rally, a freshman. She has ice water running through her veins to be able to deliver in that situation.”

RETRIBUTION ... “This was a really huge win for us,” said Tigers third baseman Marissa Christman. “We’ve been battling with them for three or four years now, so this one meant the world to us. They put up a fight too. It was a great game.”

POWER PLUS SPEED EQUALS VICTORY ... “Izzy got the hit, and we had speed out there with Rylee, so it was an excellent job making a play when they had to,” Zimmerman said.

HEADING WEST ... The Tigers will face Blue Mountain in the district final on Wednesday at Pine Grove.

Bethlehem Cath. 000 200 1 - 3 10 2

Northwestern 200 000 2 - 4 8 2

Pyle and Miller; Neumoyer, Freeman (5) and Dunstan (5). W - Freeman. L- Pyle. HR: Bethlehem Catholic - Pyle (4th, none on).