Bethlehem Catholic had plenty of highlights this spring on the diamond, but that journey came to an end last week in the opening round of the PIAA 4A baseball tournament.

The Hawks fell to Conwell-Egan 10-4 in their state opener, but it didn’t diminish what the team accomplished over the course of the season.

Reaching the EPC finals and winning a district title are what most teams would hope for coming into a campaign and the Hawks achieved that. It was a special group for head coach Matt Corsi, who took over four years ago and got to end this run with this senior class with gold medals.

“This senior group is special because they where my first freshman class,” he said. “This is the first class I have had for all four years.”

Now the challenge is defending their district crown and working throughout the offseason to get back on top. Losing in states can be a great motivator for a team that was looking for more after they fell behind 6-0 after two innings last week and could never recover fully. Becahi the lead in half through four innings, but Conwell-Egan turned it up more, scoring a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to deflate Becahi’s hopes.

Brayden Rader led the Hawks with two RBI on the day, while four Egan batters had two hits apiece in a 10-hit display. The loss ended the Hawks season at 19-8, but the future looks bright for a team bringing back plenty of experience next year.

“We are very lucky to return seven full-time starters,” Corsi said. “Our top three pitchers and then 11 players with varsity experience are back. That has us very hopeful for next year, as long as we can stay healthy.”

And that hope also brings forth more expectations for a team that may have opened their own eyes this season with what they’re capable of as a team.

“The message is the same as always,” Corsi said. “Our goal doesn’t change. We want to win districts. The difference now is these kids have a hunger for the EPC playoffs as well now. So we will add that to our offseason goals.”