Golden Hawks defeat Liberty for first championship

Bethlehem Catholic shortstop Kate Yanders broke the ice and the rest of the Golden Hawks' hitters followed on their way to their first league softball championship in program history. 

Yanders connected with a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the third inning as Bethlehem Catholic scored 10 unanswered runs in a 10-1 win over Liberty in the Lehigh Valley Conference championship game at Patriots Park in Allentown. 

Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, the sophomore battled through a long at-bat against Liberty pitcher Erin Wilson to deliver a two-out double into right field that gave the Golden Hawks a 2-1 lead.     

"I kept fouling everything off because I knew I could hit it and I had confidence in myself," Yanders said. "I just kept fouling and that one that she gave me was right down the middle and I just stroked it real hard." 

Fellow sophomore Joelle Morey allowed seven hits and one run in her second complete game in as many days for Bethlehem Catholic (19-5). She also got in on the offensive explosion, hitting a sacrifice fly in the four-run sixth inning and a two-run homer in the three-run seventh.  After striking out 10 in Saturday's semifinal victory over Northampton, Morey managed another strong outing with just two strikeouts on Sunday.     

"Liberty is a really good hitting team and they know how to hit the ball," Morey said. "I knew that even if I'd pitch a strike and they would hit it, I would just let it go. I knew I had my defense behind me." 

Jess Morey and Lauren Visconti both went 3-for-5 with three runs scored for the Golden Hawks. Yanders also had three hits for the LVC champions. 

Every starter for Bethlehem Catholic recorded a hit and all but two knocked in a run.     

"It was a total team effort today," Bethlehem Catholic coach Rich Mazza said. "You couldn't say 'well this kid won the game, no.' It was a total team effort." 

Liberty (16-6) didn't do anything to help itself in the field, committing six errors.  

Five of the Hurricanes' errors came in Bethlehem Catholic's three run-scoring innings.     

"They came out and hit the ball but you have got to make plays and that's what it all comes down to," Liberty coach Rich Giering said. "If you keep giving more than one or two outs here and there, eventually it's going to get you." 

Dior George had a leadoff triple and scored in the first inning for Liberty, which begins District 11 tournament play on Thursday. After the teams split their two regular season meetings, a 10-1 final was certainly a surprising result.     

"No, because Liberty's a class team," Mazza said about expecting a large margin of victory. "I mean, everything went our way today and when that happens, you're destined to win. That's the way that works." 

A statement victory in a league championship game is a nice confidence booster for the Golden Hawks while they get ready to enter the district playoffs.     

"This will definitely help us because now we have our confidence up," Joelle Morey said. "We know we can win and we know we can win by a lot of runs. So that's good."