ALLENTOWN – Eight teams qualify for the Colonial League softball playoffs, and currently, the top eight squads are tightly bunched together with a few others still within shouting distance of sneaking into the top eight.

The parity makes it essential for teams to capitalize when opportunities arise. Northern Lehigh couldn’t do that Friday night at Patriots’ Park in Allentown against league foe Notre Dame-Green Pond.

“We’re trying to impress upon these ladies the elite athlete mindset that, when you have somebody down, you put them down and don’t give them life,” said coach Dan Caruso after his team gave the Crusaders extra chances that led to a five-run inning and a 7-1 loss for the Bulldogs.

Officially, there was just one fielding error, but a few missed opportunities in the field and on the bases proved costly for Northern Lehigh.

Pitcher Tegan Simms helped herself in the first inning when she stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. Simms dropped a blooper into left center field, and Kylee Snyder got a good jump from second to score the game’s first run on the play.

After the initial run, Crusaders pitcher Emily Szczepanski settled in. Simms was locked in from the start. The Crusaders did move a runner into scoring position in the second and third innings, and then put runners on second and third in the fourth, but Simms battled out of the jams.

Szczepanski hit a groundball that could have been the second out of the inning, but the ball squeezed through the infield for a one out single. Riley Palank followed with a triple to right that tied the game 1-1.

Notre Dame put down a well-placed squeeze bunt, allowing the go-ahead run to cross for a 2-1 lead.

With runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the inning, Northern Lehigh put on a safety squeeze. Kylee Snyder bunted the ball to third, and the play resulted in an out following a short rundown. Szczepanski then recorded a strikeout to end the inning.

“We didn’t wait on the bunt like we practiced. We needed to let the throw go to first, and that changed the momentum,” said Caruso. “If we get that run there, it’s tied and it’s a different game at that point.”

Notre Dame broke the game open in the sixth when Szczepanski delivered an RBI single, and one out later, with the bases loaded, Gabby Apgar lined a shot to center field for a bases-clearing double to make it 6-1. The Crusaders added another run on a single by Kelsey Bedics.

Addie Smith came on to pitch and recorded the final two outs of the inning for Northern Lehigh.

The Bulldogs threatened in the sixth and seventh innings, but weren’t able to push a run across the plate.

“We’ve had very few errors this season and have gotten a lot of double-plays. This was tough to watch because we had them down in the fifth inning and we just couldn’t stop groundballs,” said Caruso. “We’ll work on these things in practice and we’ll get them fixed.”

THREE FOR THREE?... Northern Lehigh has games coming up against Bangor (4-4, 3-4), Southern Lehigh (7-3, 6-3), and Jim Thorpe (3-6, 1-6). Caruso believes it will be a good week for his team if they play better than they did in the loss to the Crusaders. “There is just so much parity in this league that anybody can beat anybody on a given day. It’s a tight league and we’re all evenly matched and all have great pitching.”

Notre Dame GP 000 025 0 - 7 14 0

Northern Lehigh 100 000 0 - 1 7 1

Szczepanski and DeWalt; Simms, Smith (5) and Gad. W - Szczepanski. L - Simms.

Records: NDGP (6-2 overall, 6-2 Colonial); NL (6-3 overall, 5-3 Colonial)