NTL SOFTBALL: ATHENS EDGES TOWANDA, 3-2; IN DRIVER'S SEAT FOR LEAGUE TITLE (18 PHOTOS) (May 2, 2026)

By CHRIS MANNING
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — All morning long, Athens lived on the wild side.

Towanda had runners on base every inning, but the Wildcats held them to just two runs - none after the third inning, while they got their break in the bottom of the eighth as Maddie Hiley drove in her sister Gretchan Hiley for the 3-2 walk-off  win in NTL softball action.

“It’ll definitely give me some gray hairs here, man, but this is what it’s all about,” said Athens coach Brian Wendela. “We know Towanda, we have a lot of respect for them, they’re a really, really good team. 

"We knew it was going to be a battle. There was a lot of on the line with first place in the league. 

"It just shows the resilience of our team - they had each other’s backs, played good defense, and got the big hits when we needed,” added Wendela.

The win puts Athens in the driver’s seat for another NTL title as they have just have to win out against Canton and Troy to claim the 2026 championship.

Gretchan Hiley struck out nine with five walks, nine hits, and two earned runs to get the win.

“It feels great,” Hiley said after. “The game decided if we were NTL champs or not. We still have to work for that toward the end of the season, but that was definitely one of our biggest games.”

The Wildcats stranded 11 Towanda base runners on the day as the Knights did a good job of getting on base early in their at bats.

“It was very nerve-wracking, but I definitely had a lot of trust in my defense, and that’s what really helped us today,” said Hiley.

Athens had just one error on the day, while getting key outs. They got an out at home in the top of the eighth that would have put the Knights up, while right fielder Kendall Galasso made a big catch in the gap.

“It’s something we take pride in is working hard on defense,” Wendela said. “We get a lot of reps in. We just, as recent, haven’t been able to just because of the weather, and just playing a lot of games. 

"We talk about being ready, being set when it’s your time to go make the play. We had a rally couple nice plays, and even on the hard hit balls, we did a good job hitting our cuts, and stopped the bleeding,” he added.

At the plate, Gretchan Hiley (1-for-3) scored two of their three runs as Danica May (1-for-3) drove in two runs.

Memphis Paul scored a run, McKenna Jarvis (1-for-3) had a hit, and Maddie Hiley (1-for-4) drove in a run.

For Towanda, Leila Cobb struck out seven with two walks, four hits, and three runs scored.

Through the second to seventh innings, Cobb retired 18 of 20 Wildcat batters.

The Knights had nine hits as a team, including three doubles.

“They had a really good game plan against (Gretchan), but she just buckles in,” Wendela said. “There were runners on base, and she kept battling.”

Athens jumped out with two runs in the bottom of the first.

Gretchan Hiley led things off with a walk, then Paul reached two batters later on a hit by pitch.

Jarvis would single to load the bases, then May had the 2-run hit that scored Hiley and Paul for the 2-0 lead.

Cobb would get back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

Towanda struck back in the top of the second as Caedence Wells led off with a double. Leila Cobb then brought in Wells’ courtesy runner, Sadie Overpeck, to make it 2-1.

Athens would strand Cobb at second by retiring the next three batters.

In the top of the third, Towanda’s Payton Perry led off with a double. She would steal third, and on the overthrow took home to knot things up at 2-all.

After that it was a lot of Towanda nipping at home plate, but Athens holding back the tide.

The Knights would load the bases with 1-out in the fourth only to watch Hiley get back-to-back outs to end the threat.

Towanda saw the their first two batters reach in the top of the fifth, but a strikeout, a line out, and a fielder’s choice kept it a 2-2 game.

In the sixth, Towanda’s Molly Roberts led off the inning with a hit. Her courtesy-runner, Taylor Aquilio, was caught stealing at second in a play that Towanda appealed as the ball came out on the tag, but the out call held.

The Knights would load the bases one more time in seventh inning only for Hiley to induce a fly out to send the game into extra innings.

Towanda saw Hannah Crawford and Kaylen Sluyter reach on back-to-back hits to lead off the eighth, and a sacrifice bunt moved them over to second and third.

Crawford tried for home on a passed ball, but was caught at the plate. Hiley then got a ground out to end the threat.

In the bottom half of the inning, Gretchan Hiley singled on the first pitch offered to her, then took second on a passed ball.

Maddie Hiley then singled her in on a 2-2 pitch to get the win.

“I just knew that’s what was going to happen,” Gretchan Hiley said. “Last year, we played them, and it was a super close game. That’s exactly how we won last year.”

The Wildcats have a 1-game lead on Towanda and North Penn-Liberty, and just need wins over Canton and Troy to finish out the repeat.

“We probably need to get better at-bats throughout the season,” Hiley said. “I feel like we get really antsy in there, and then just swing at any pitch, but I think we need to look for our pitch.”

This is the sixth straight game decided by four runs or less for Athens, and their second straight 1-run win.

“It’s nerve-racking for sure,” Hiley said “We just have to keep staying focused, and make plays.”

Athens returns to action Thursday when it hosts Canton.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Maddie Hiley and junior Gretchan Hiley. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens senior Maddie Hiley. ... PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.

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