A new season often brings on a new wave of youthful players that need to find their roles on the field.

That was the reality for both the Palmerton and Northern Lehigh softball teams, as the squads squared off against each other on Friday. The result was a back-and-forth affair that ended in the Bombers edging out a 10-8 Colonial League victory over the Bulldogs.

With Palmerton losing ace Carly Gaffney to graduation, along with five other seniors, the Bombers have looked to several underclassmen, such as freshman pitcher Samantha Wolfe, to fill key roles.

Northern Lehigh finds itself turning to a surplus of sophomores to take strides forward. Head coach Daniel Caruso finds that to be something positive for his team’s long-term success.

“Our youth is our strength because we have four pitchers and all four pitchers are sophomores,” he said. “We just have to make some adjustments. I have four new sophomores on the team that came up from (junior) high this year, so (I’m) trying to work them in and they’re doing a great job. It’s an adjustment for them with the speed of the pitching from junior high to varsity.”

With this four-player rotation, it was Addison Smith’s turn in the circle Friday.

The Bombers opened with a four-spot in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a three-run triple from Grace Scheinder.

The young Lady Dawgs showed their fight as they broke through in the top of the third with three runs, which included a two-run single from Marisa Maehrer.

After a quiet fourth frame, the fifth saw the floodgates open with a classic punch and counter-punch on the scoreboard.

First came a five-run outburst from the Bulldogs with Tegan Simms blasting a two-run triple and Peyton Hoffman adding a two-run single. Then came a four-run response from the Bombers, kick-started by a three-run inside-the-park home run from Tessa Sander to tie the score at 8-8.

Sander came through for Palmerton again in the sixth with an RBI triple to give her team the lead. She finished a double shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and reaching base in all four of her plate appearances.

“I thought I performed very well,” Sander said. “I thought I did my job and I just wanted to make sure I played hard for my team, and just show them anybody can do it, and I wanted to really encourage them and make them fight.”

The Bombers’ defense picked the right time to make key defensive plays.

With the Bulldogs threatening in the seventh, a hard-hit lineout to Mikayla Pengelly resulted in a game-ending 8-6 double play.

“It’s a great win for our kids,” said Bombers’ head coach Bob Hock. “It was back and forth, and it’s a great rivalry game. Our team came out quickly, put up some runs. They battled back like I knew they would and we came back again and got some pretty good defense there late in the game. (I told) them defense wins games, and that was a great example of it right there.”

Both coaches are treating early games as a way to evaluate their squads to see where they stand. Despite the loss, Caruso recognizes the potential in his squad.

“We made a few mistakes, but overall, we hit the ball finely today,” Caruso said. “We didn’t hit the ball two days ago, but I think we are a lot better than last year. Even though we lost the talent, we’re a lot better. So I think we’re going to have a good season.”

Hock echoed those sentiments.

“We’ve lost a lot of kids,” he said. “We have a lot of good returners here, but we’re not sure where the pieces all fit. We’re feeling our way through it and they’re starting to get comfortable in spots. It’s a big jump for them and we did talk to them, ‘You guys (are) just going to have to grow up early for us’. We needed all four ninth graders to move up, and they’re on the field, so it’s a whole different level for them.

“They have the abilities. It’s now a matter of being comfortable out there and working on the little things that will make it or break a game (like) being in the right position for things that are going on in the field. I think they’re a little spooked at this point because it is a big jump, (but) they’re handling it pretty well thus far.”

UP NEXT ... Palmerton hosts Pleasant Valley on Monday, while Northern Lehigh visits Notre Dame Green Pond Tuesday.

Northern Lehigh 003 050 0 - 8 8 2

Palmerton 400 042 x - 10 10 4

Records: Northern Lehigh (0-2); Palmerton (2-0)