Allentown, PA — By Kyle Craig | For lehighvalleylive.com Style points don’t count in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference baseball. Parkland was happy to register a win by any means necessary on Saturday afternoon. The Trojans, who are ranked No. 1 by lehighvalleylive.com, recorded only three hits but defeated visiting Easton 4-3 in walk-off fashion. “Good teams find a way to win when they’re not at their best,” Parkland coach Kurt Weber said. “Our bats will come around. Right now, it’s a battle.” With the game tied 3-3, Parkland senior Brody Morabito reached on an error to start the bottom of the seventh inning and was replaced by courtesy runner Tsubasa Magota. After Magota stole second base, Trojans senior Will Dobil put down a sacrifice bunt. Another error allowed Dobil to reach safely and put runners on the corners with no outs. A cross-up between Easton’s battery resulted in a passed ball, which brought home Magota with the winning run. Easton (6-5), ranked No. 6 by lehighvalleylive.com, plated all three of its runs via passed balls, adding to Saturday’s peculiarities. The Red Rovers trailed 3-2 in the top of the seventh when junior Chase Shollenberger started the frame with a double to right field (the only extra-base hit of the afternoon). An error on a pickoff attempt moved Shollenberger to third, where he scored after the ball trickled away from Parkland’s catcher. “We’re just resilient,” said Trojans junior Sawyer Marsteller, who earned the win after pitching two innings in relief of starter Steven Sepko. “We can score 15 runs and win a game. We can score one run and win a game. We have good defense, good offense. Whenever the offense isn’t there, the defense is there to pick us up. We have a good mindset in the dugout. We don’t get down.” Parkland sophomore Ben Weninger singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and another knock by senior Brady Derr put runners on the corners. Mack Parsell, a senior, plated Evan Newhard, who ran for Weninger, with a sacrifice fly to tie the contest at 2-2. Julian Santiago, a senior, ran for Derr, stole second base and advanced to third on Parsell’s sac fly. Connor Gerhart, another senior, followed with a walk to, again, give the Trojans runners at first and third. Gerhart prompted Easton starting pitcher Rowan Galiotto to step off the mound, and Santiago raced home, putting Parkland ahead 3-2, while the Rovers were preoccupied with the rundown. “We want to put as much pressure on the defense as we possibly can,” Dobil said. “We want to make them make plays; if they make the play, then so be it.” “Small ball, whether it’s bunting, the first-and-thirds or stealing bases, that’s always been part of our program,” Weber added. “... We work on that on purpose. That’s the reason.” Easton accumulated five errors on Saturday. “We have to execute better defensively,” Rovers coach Carm LaDuca said. “There were numerous plays that weren’t made in the infield that need to be made.” Easton loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first inning. Junior Cole Ordway scored the game’s opening run on a passed ball. Sepko, a senior, avoided further damage with a strikeout and flyout. The Rovers’ early lead was short-lived. Parkland junior Aiden Henning reached on an error and Morabito walked to start the bottom of the first. Easton had Henning picked off second base, but the Trojan evaded the tag and advanced to third. Dobil then drove a sacrifice fly into center field to knot the score at 1-1. “A lot of guys were chipping in, everyone was a part of it,” Dobil said of Saturday’s win. Easton junior Mason Stout led off the top of the fifth inning with a single to center field. He was sacrificed to second base and reach third on a groundout. Stout crossed the plate on a passed ball, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Galiotto followed with a five-pitch shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth. The Rovers senior tossed 5.2 innings, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out four and walking four. Sepko, who lost a large chunk of his junior season due to injury, hadn’t pitched since April 1. He had his longest outing of the spring, going 5 innings, allowing four hits and two unearned runs while striking out four and walking two. “It was really great to have Steve back,” Weber said. Easton has lost two straight and will try to get back in the win column on Monday against East Stroudsburg North. Parkland (9-2) bounced back from an out-of-area loss to Wilson-West Lawn on Thursday. The Trojans travel to Dieruff on Monday. I feel like we’re in a good spot right now,” Marsteller said. “We definitely can find a different gear. We have a lot to get better at. We have a lot of things we’re good at, but we’re never satisfied.” Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kyle Craig may be reached at [email protected].