To Northern Lehigh’s softball opponents, it seems as though pitcher Kaitlin Hoffman has been playing for nearly a decade.

In this, her senior season, she is already making those opposing teams pay, as she not only makes plays on offense with her bat, but also takes the mound to lead Bob Hicks’ roster to a 2-0 record after their opening pair of games.

In their Colonial League opener against Salisbury, Hoffman’s presence was felt throughout the contest. She had an RBI single in the first frame, and went the distance on the hill, fanning 10 batters while walking three to lead her squad to a 4-3 victory.

“She cannot be rattled out there,” Hicks said. “She never gives up. She never lets anybody beat her, and she just goes at them, and there’s never any quit in her.”

In the bottom of the first frame, Hoffman singled before teammate Paige Hude followed with a hard-hit ball that was mishandled, and on the errant throw, Hoffman raced around to give her team the early advantage.

“At the plate, I don’t need to worry about her and actually, in the field, I don’t need to worry about her either,” Hicks said. “She’s kind of the backbone of the team, and she can do it all.”

She finished the contest 2-for-3 with a run scored. She also stepped up on defense to give the Falcons fits.

With Salisbury (1-1) challenging in the top of the second, Hoffman retired three straight to end the threat.

Then, in the top of the third, the Falcons had the bases loaded with one out and a full count. Hoffman caught Sara Lamana looking for the second out and fanned Hannah Lipkin for another potentially damaging threat.

“She can handle pressure,” Hicks said. “She doesn’t get phased, she stays tough and is mentally solid.”

Hoffman admitted to the pressure.

“I internalize that and try to make it my own,” she said. “I try to get the outs myself by really focusing and hitting my spots, and it really worked out for me in the end.”

By no means is this year’s squad a one-person team, and Hoffman is the first to admit that, as several players came up nearly as huge in several crucial spots.

In the bottom of the fourth, clinging to a 2-1 lead, Shy Williams was behind in the count 0-2 before lining an RBI single. Then, Lauren Hoffman, who finished the day 2-for-3, and Kate Yesik both singled before Olivia Toth had an RBI single to round out the scoring for the winners.

OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS... Maddie Peters and Alicia Horn both had singles, while Hude scored twice for the Bulldogs. Salisbury’s Lilia Crouthamel went 3-for-4 with a triple. The Falcons’ Emily Silberman was 2-for-3, and teammate Katherine Lovelidge had a single and scored twice.

IN THE END ... With the score at 4-3, Hoffman went to the mound for the top of the seventh and forced a groundout, before striking out the second batter she faced. Following a Lipkin single, Gretchen Helsel lined a grounder that struck Hoffman in the leg. She collected the ball and threw to first base to end the game.

LEAD FALCON ... Salisbury coach Jeff Appleman was happy with his team’s effort despite the loss. “It’s a tough opening schedule against Bangor and then against (Northern Lehigh),” he said. “They’re a good team. Hoffman is tough, but we had baserunners and I thought we did pretty good against a good team.”

Salisbury 001 200 0 - 3 7 1

No. Lehigh 202 000 x - 4 9 2

Silberman and Crouthamel; K. Hoffman and Schuck. W-K.Hoffman, L-Silberman.