High school baseball's second season hasn't been kind to Liberty in the last half-dozen years. <\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have qualified for every Lehigh Valley Conference tournament since the league went to a four-team tournament in 2009 but reached just one title game. Four times in that span they followed an LVC tournament loss by dropping a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal. <\/p>\n
This year's Liberty team lacks the pitching and lineup depth or overall speed some of coach Andy Pitsilos' other recent teams featured. The current Hurricanes have something many of those teams could not collect a postseason win, which came Wednesday in a 7-3 victory over Whitehall. <\/p>\n
That win moved Liberty into today's district semifinals with Parkland, Emmaus and Stroudsburg. Seeding aside, the Hurricanes are the least-likely member of the 4A final four. <\/p>\n
Liberty entered districts 0-5 against Whitehall, Parkland and Emmaus, the three teams that joined it in the LVC playoffs last week. The Hurricanes changed that with one of their best all-around efforts Wednesday against the Zephyrs. <\/p>\n
\"They work hard. They gut it out. They're always there,\" Pitsilos said. \"Being there means they have a shot to be somewhere else.\" <\/p>\n
Fifth-seeded Liberty (15-7 overall) will look to continue turning around its pre-district results tonight against No. 1 Parkland (7 p.m., Hackett Park). The Trojans (18-5) won the lone regular-season meeting between the teams in early April, scoring seven runs in the fifth to snap a 1-1 tie en route to an 8-1 win. <\/p>\n
Liberty will have to play a clean game and execute the way it did Wednesday, when starting pitcher Matt Leon dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt to contribute to a four-run inning. Parkland has allowed eight runs in its last seven games, posting four shutouts during that stretch. <\/p>\n
The first 4A semifinal will feature No. 3 Emmaus and No. 7 Stroudsburg (12:30 p.m., Limeport Stadium). The Green Hornets (19-3) will turn to undefeated ace Josh LeMaster (8-0, 0.73 ERA) as they seek their first trip to the district final since 2011. <\/p>\n
Stroudsburg (17-6) will be going after its third district win of the week. The Mounties blanked No. 10 Northampton on Monday and blasted No. 2 East Stroudsburg South on Wednesday without using junior ace Mike Nikorak. <\/p>\n
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Liberty baseball team bucks recent history to reach District 11 4A semifinals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" High school baseball's second season hasn't been kind to Liberty in the last half-dozen years. The Hurricanes have qualified for every Lehigh Valley Conference tournament since the league went to a four-team tournament in 2009 but reached just one title game Continue reading