The final chapter of Liberty’s baseball season and two-year run ended last week. The Hurricanes lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to North Penn in the PIAA 6A quarterfinals to end their hopes of making a run to the state finals for a second straight year.

North Penn scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring on a hit batter with bases loaded to even the game, followed by a wild pitch to give the Knights the lead for good.

Head coach Andy Pitsilos knew it was tough to see this group play for the last time, but also understands this is how baseball games play out sometimes.

“We just lost to North Penn,” he said. “It was a good game, they just happened to be a run better than us that day. It was a memorable year for our team.”

The Hurricanes finish the season 20-5, walking away with the East Penn Conference crown and District 11 6A title.

After reaching the state finals last year, Liberty brought back the bulk of their lineup and faced massive expectations to make another state run.

They beat Avon Grove 6-5 in extra innings of the first round of the PIAA tournament, but couldn’t muster enough magic to comeback against a North Penn program that made their second state semifinals appearance in the last three years.

The Hurricanes lose nine seniors from a class that went 65-11 in three seasons and took home two district titles and a league crown.

Despite falling short in states, Pitsilos is confident that this class of players will have a lasting legacy over time.

“This was an amazing class,” he said. “The kids were extremely devoted to being successful. All year long we had a target on our back and pressure on us to at least get back to states. We worked hard in the offseason to get stronger and faster. We made a challenging schedule to get them ready for postseason play, so heading into the playoffs, we were ready. Winning two gold medals by winning five straight games by mercy rule, I think proved we were the best team in the area and arguably one of the best teams in Lehigh Valley history.”