ALLENTOWN — For the first time since 2010, the Bulldogs of Northern Lehigh can call themselves Colonial League softball champions.

Much like what happened Tuesday night in a win over Palmerton in the semifinal round, Shyanna Williams came through with a big hit late in the game to help Northern Lehigh take a 5-3 decision over Salisbury in Thursday’s league title tilt.

Salisbury coach Jeff Appleman took the bat out of Kaitlin Hoffman’s hands three times in the game by walking her intentionally. It worked well the first two times, and came close to working a third time in the sixth inning when he walked her with runners on first and second and a 3-2 lead. This time though, Williams ruined the strategy when she tomahawked a riseball to left-center field to clear the bases and give the Bulldogs (16-3) their 5-3 advantage.

“I expected it,” said Northern Lehigh coach Bob Hicks. “I didn’t expect it as much, but I expected it. Kaitlin leads off for a reason. What was getting frustrating was stranding runners, that was getting frustrating.”

Tuesday night Williams delivered a double that sparked a rally, leading to the 4-3 win over Palmerton to send Northern Lehigh to the championship game.

While she might not have gotten the best of pitches to hit, Williams liked how the ball felt when it hit the bat and figured good things were about to happen.

“I had bases loaded so I said ‘I have to hit this ball; how can I leave my teammates out there.’ Same thing happened last Williams after the celebration and trophy presentation. “It felt so nice off of that bat I couldn’t believe it.”

Hoffman didn’t get the opportunities that she would have liked at the plate, but she was able to take things into her own hands in the circle and get the final three outs without an issue to lock up the win. Hoffman held the Falcons (16-5) to just four hits in the game, with Peyton Stauffer picking up two of them.

The decisive inning started with singles by Julia Wanamaker and Maddy Peters. With one out, Appleman ordered the intentional walk to Hoffman. The strategy had worked twice before in the game and he was hoping to get more of the same in the bottom of the sixth.

Peters, Wanamaker and Williams each had two hits in the game for Northern Lehigh.

WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE ... Walking Hoffman intentionally is nothing new to Appleman. “I walked her with the bases loaded in a 5-5 tie to bring in the go-ahead run,” said Appleman of a meeting between the two teams back on May 7. “We got two ground balls and then somebody got a base hit.” Hoffman had homered earlier in that game, which the Bulldogs went on to win 8-6.

UP NEXT ... Both teams will be in the District 11 3A tournament, which starts next week. The seedings and brackets will be determined on Sunday and Northern Lehigh, by virtue of being league champions, will probably now move up to the No. 2 seed. Palmerton and Marian will also be in the 3A bracket.

FIELD WORK ... With the recent rains and schools having proms scheduled was a fiasco this week for the Colonial League playoffs. Palisades AD Becky George chairs the softball committee and was determined to make the best of it. She worked alongside the Patriots Park grounds crew Tuesday night to turn a lake into a playable surface, and was out there again on Thursday to get the field back in shape for four games. She relied on her playing days to know what could be done. “I know from playing here how hard this field is; I’ve got scars on my legs from this field. I knew that we could make this work,” said George.

Salisbury 110 001 0 - 3 4 3

No. Lehigh 200 003 x - 5 8 1

Silberman and Lamana; K. Hoffman and Toth. W - K. Hoffman. L - Silberman.