A pair of bad memories came flashing back Thursday for the Northern Valley Chargers.

The first came when Lower Macungie pitcher Ryan Hummell came on to pitch and flipped a switch to turn off the Northern Valley offense — just like he had done against the Chargers in two previous games between the two teams.

Second was the memory of their opening game in the Lehigh Valley Legion playoffs on Tuesday night when Whitehall scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on for a 2-0 win to send the Chargers into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

The two memories combined to end the Northern Valley season as it fell to Lower Macungie 6-5 at Church Lane Field in Trexlertown.

When Hummell entered the game with two outs in the third inning, the Chargers had already scored three times to take a 5-4 lead, and they still had a pair of runners on base. After walking the first batter he faced to load the bases, Hummell got a ground out to start a stretch where he allowed only one of 14 hitters to reach base.

Up until that point, the two teams had been playing a wild game that saw nine runs score on 12 hits — along with a couple missed opportunities.

The Chargers put a pair of runners on with one out in the top of the first against starter Nicolas Balsamo, but were unable to capitalize. In the bottom of the inning, Lower Mac loaded the bases with nobody out against Connor Simms, who got Colin Wilson to hit a grounder to third that Nick Buskirk fielded and threw home to nail Wilson at the plate. Simms used the momentum of the play to get the next two batters and keep the game scoreless.

Northern Valley (6-10) struck first when Bobby Croneberger doubled with two runners on in the second to make it 2-0 Chargers, but the home team put up four runs in the bottom of the inning for a 4-2 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Chargers’ third inning saw a pair of singles and a passed ball put runners on second and third, and Simms helped himself with a two-run single to tie the game. A walk to Josh Farber put two runners on and a fielding error allowed Simms to snap the tie game when he scored from second to give Northern Valley a 5-4 lead.

Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases for Lower Mac (10-6) with one out in the fourth and ended Simms’ tenure on the mound in favor of Josh Lichman. The first batter to face Lichman was Mike Kernechel, who drew a walk to force in a run before the Northern Valley infield turned a perfectly executed 4-6-3 double play to avoid any further damage and keep the game tied.

As Hummell continued to mow down hitters, Lower Mac loaded the bases with two outs against Lichman in the fifth. Lichman fell behind 2-0 to Wilson, before striking him out on the next three pitches.

In the sixth, Dan Rholsen blooped a single to left to lead off the inning and then stole second ahead of a walk to Kernechel. Rholsen then stole third and a ground ball moved Kernechel to second with one out. Farber came on to pitch and got a ground ball, but Northern Valley couldn’t get Rholsen at the plate as he scored the go-ahead run for a 6-5 lead.

Hummell easily put the side down in order in the seventh to preserve the win.

In two previous games against Northern Valley, Hummell had thrown 3 1/3 innings and allowed one hit and a walk while striking out six and giving up just one unearned run. In Thursday’s game, he pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

The game was the end of Brad Rauch’s tenure as the Northern Valley head coach. Rauch has decided to end his coaching career to spend more time with his family.

Rauch has sacrificed family time for his players over the years, including substituting his own concert tickets to two players for theirs so they could see the same performer but on a different date that would allow them to not miss a playoff game. He also returned from a family vacation early to coach in a legion championship game.

“It’s been a good run,” said Rauch. “I did those things because my players have been really good guys, and I have always thought they were special and deserved everything I had to give them.

“Now, it’s time to be a dad and not a coach.”

ELSEWHERE … Lower Macungie has now won five of its last six games after going 5-5 in its first 10 games. It will face another elimination game against Southern Lehigh, who downed Whitehall 15-0 Thursday night. Whitehall had beaten Northern Valley in the opening round, and then fell to South Parkland in a winner’s bracket game. North Parkland bought its ticket to the finals when it downed South Parkland 1-0 Thursday in the winner’s bracket, leaving the Buffaloes as the only undefeated team in the playoffs. The winner of Southern Lehigh-Lower Mac will take on South Parkland for the other spot in the finals.

Northern Valley 023 000 0 - 5 6 3

Lower Macungie 040 101 x - 6 13 1

Simms, Lichman (4), Farber (6) and Augustus; Balsamo, Hummell (3) and D. Schmidt. W - Hummell. L - Lichman.