Liberty High Schools softball team couldnt locate the big hit it needed to turn the tide of the game on Thursday.

And, while the Hurricanes searched, Spring-Ford found its knockout punch and ended the Bethlehem schools historic season.

Liberty fell to the Rams, 9-2, in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals at Parkland High School.

Spring-Ford, the third-place team from District 1, advances to Mondays state semifinals, where it will meet the Council Rock North-Hazleton winner.

The Rams jumped out in front during the games second at-bat when Megan Kern launched a home run over the right field fence, a rare occurrence at the South Whitehall Township venue.

Spring-Ford (21-4) led the rest of the way, tacking on an insurance run in the fifth inning, before breaking the contest open with a three-run sixth inning and four-run seventh.

Bridget Sharkey provided the pop in the last three innings, smacking a run-scoring double in each frame and finishing with five RBIs for the Rams.

We knew coming in that they were going to be one of the better teams weve faced, Hurricanes senior center fielder Reyna DeJesus said of Spring-Ford.

Liberty (21-6) put a pair of runners on base during the first, third and fifth innings, but didnt push any across.

We got the girls on base, we just couldnt get them around, Liberty coach Sam Carrodo said. We had first-and-second, second-and-third a few times, we just couldnt get that hit to bring them in. Thats what separates good teams from great teams when it comes to this level. If you want to advance, youve got to get those runners in.

The Hurricanes finally broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to RBI singles from Paige Zigmund and Alexa Burger.

I tell you what, they could have given up, Carrodo said. They could have let it go, but they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. You have to be proud of them. Theyre great kids.

Despite Thursdays disappointing conclusion, Liberty has plenty to be happy about at the end of the day. The Hurricanes had the most wins in program history, a District 11 title and the schools first victory in the PIAA tournament.

We had a great group of girls, said DeJesus, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Co-MVP. People doubted us from the beginning. It was just great to show people what we can do.

Liberty will lose seven seniors: DeJesus, Kristin Kaleycik, Cailin Donegan, Skilee Diaz, Keri Appleman, Jess Watts and Miranda Kinney.

They made us proud all four years not only on the field, but off the field and in the classroom, Carrodo said. They were just outstanding young ladies. The hole that theyre going to leave is going to be very, very tough to fill. But, were going to work at it. We had a very good JV team Hopefully, we can fill some holes with some of those kids and continue on, because I think we have a bright future.

DeJesus, who is headed to the University of Delaware, is confident that the younger players will take this years success and run with it.

We have good freshmen coming in every year, she said. We have juniors and sophomores who are very good and are going to fill our positions when the seniors leave. I think theyre going to make a good run next year.

Kyle Craig may be reached atkcraig@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter@KyleCraigSports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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Stranded runners leave Liberty softball's season stuck in PIAA quarters - lehighvalleylive.com