EMMAUS - The Emmaus softball team had 10 days to think about avenging its first-round league playoff loss to Pleasant Valley.

Thanks to their seeding in the District 11 playoffs, the Hornets met the Bears in the quarterfinal round of that tournament and exacted the revenge they sought.

Emmaus again jumped on top early, but this time held the Bears down until it was too late in a 9-2 win Thursday that puts the No. 2 seed Hornets in the Class 6A semifinals and ends Pleasant Valley’s season.

“They were aggressive with the bats,” said PV head coach Steve Caffrey. “They hit the ball a lot better than they did last time. We didn’t really put the ball in play too much.”

Emmaus (18-4) scored a run in the first inning, and then took control with an eight-run fourth inning.

“We were into the game right from the start,” said Emmaus head coach Rich Giering, who felt his team didn’t have enough intensity from the start of its 4-2 loss to PV in the East Penn Conference quarterfinals on May 13.

Host Emmaus put its first two batters on base Thursday at Williams St. Field. Molly Yard led off with a bunt single before Brianna Amey’s double put runners on second and third. Sadie Haefeli brought in Yard with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.

The Hornets had runners in scoring position in the second and third innings, but didn’t get any runs across the plate again until the fourth.

Emmaus sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth, when five singles, two doubles, one walk and two errors led to eight runs and a 9-0 lead.

“We were really hyped to get back at them,” said Amey, who went 3-for-4 in the win. “We knew if we played our game, then we would be 100% on it and we were. We stuck with it and we changed our momentum and changed our mentality, and it worked for us.”

Hornet pitcher Autumn Held allowed just two hits over five innings and saw only two balls leave the infield before exiting the game with a nine-run advantage.

“I don’t really worry about her too much,” said Giering. “We just have to make sure our defense is playing good.

“When we played them the last time, we had a five at-bat stretch where we had three errors.”

The Bears (15-8) got on the board in the fifth inning when Rylan Knapp (2-for-3) singled and scored on a error.

An inning later, PV loaded the bases on a walk and two hits before Hornet freshman Mari Eiswerth walked in a run. The Bears nearly had a couple more runs on a Knapp two-out single to right field, but the umpires ruled that the batted ball hit a base-runner, which ended the inning.

“I’m very proud of this team,” said Caffrey. “We didn’t even win our division, and then we were able to make it to the (league) finals because we were able to play as a team and do what was needed. I’m very happy with these girls.”

BIG GAME SEASON ... The Bears finished their best season since the program played in the Mountain Valley Conference. They were the No. 7 seed in both the league playoffs and district playoffs. In leagues, they knocked off No. 2 Emmaus and No. 3 Parkland on consecutive days to reach the EPC final.

BULL MARKET ON BEARS FUTURE ... Just three members of Pleasant Valley’s starting lineup will graduate in Danica Getz, Hailey Krock and Samantha Ratti. “I think they’ll do fine next year,” said Caffrey of his team’s chances in 2025.

BLACKBOARD BRACKETS ... While upsets highlighted the EPC playoffs, the district brackets look much more chalky in Class 6A, and could feature the top four seeds in the semifinals. No. 2 Emmaus takes on No. 3 Liberty in one semifinal on Tuesday. The other semi will have No. 4 Freedom facing either No. 1 Nazareth or No. 9 Northampton who play today.

Pleasant Valley 000 011 0 - 2 5 3

Emmaus 100 800 x - 9 12 1

K. Getz, Dorshimer (5) and Ratti, Frable (6); Held, Eiswerth (6) and Derr. W - Held. L - Getz.