Bethlehem Catholic took Liberty by surprise in the bottom of the ninth inning and pulled out a 3-2 softball victory over its city rival on May 4 at Bethlehem Catholic.

“As soon as I saw that ball in the dirt, I knew I needed to get to third. I got there, and then I saw she threw it to second and the second baseman didn’t catch it, so I just ran home and slid,” said Becahi shortstop Sophia Rivera, who scored the game-winning run.

Rivera led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single, and pitcher Hailey Pyle walked. Francesca Oberholzer was in the batters box when a wild pitch got past Liberty’s catcher, and Rivera and courtesy runner Charlotte Sampson advanced to third and second base, respectively.

“I didn’t know if the second baseman was gonna throw it home, so that’s why I slid,” Rivera said. “It was a big win. Yeah, we wanted this one.”

For Liberty, the ninth inning was a series of unfortunate events.

“I told them that inning, defensively, I said nobody gets to second base,” said Liberty coach Sam Carrodo. “Unfortunately, they got a base hit and a walk, and then we’re not aware of where the runners are. It was just unfortunate.”

The Hurricanes gave out two consecutive intentional walks which worked in their favor in the bottom of the seventh inning when Kristal Torres’ popped up for the Golden Hawks’ third out.

“If we had lost this game, I still would have been pretty pleased with the way we played,” said Becahi coach Rich Mazza. “The enthusiasm, the intensity we showed, to get the win too, that’s the nice thing.”

A rain delay in the top of the third inning seemed to lift the spirits of the Hawks who trailed, 2-1, at the time with Liberty’s Addison Sabo on second base, and afterward Pyle returned to the circle and delivered a third-out strikeout.

“Hailey showed a lot of mental toughness today, and that’s what we need from her, and that was the difference in the game,” said Mazza. “These kids showed some emotion, and that’s what we needed.”

After Becahi catcher Brooklyn Miller threw out Liberty pitcher Miya Williams in a rundown in the fourth inning, Beca outfielder Leah Chladny’s two-out, bases-loaded RBI to center field tied the game, 2-2.

The Hawks saved two runs in the sixth inning when Sabo was caught in a rundown after her triple and a well-timed strike out was delivered by Pyle for the last out.

“I think our energy went way up after the rain delay because in the dugout, we were playing some music and getting pumped up,” said Pyle. “In some situations like this, you can get really nervous, but I just kept my mind in the game, zoned everything out, and did my thing. My drop curve was working really well for me today. Honestly, I could pitch a little bit more.”

The win for the Hawks evened the series between the city rivals after the Hurricanes won the first matchup on April 7.

“I think none of us saw that coming,” said Pyle, regarding the Hawks’ walk-off, “but everyone was going crazy.”