Sometimes you just know. It's as simple as that.

Despite a season during which the Hawks appeared to be down and out, there came a time when Bethlehem Catholic High School softball coach Rich Mazza had a feeling their season would end much better than it had been.

"We had so much adversity. Every day there was another problem. Then you wonder what's going to happen next. It changed the atmosphere a little, but our juniors were tremendous with that," Mazza said.

Those juniors - Angelys Cotto, Bethanne Brandstetter, Brooke Rau, Maria Talpas, and Yanesca Rodriguez - were the ones who kept the Hawks' morale up while two other juniors, Elyse Cuttic and Courtney Shupp, had to sit out for most of the season due to injuries and illnesses. That isn't to say that Cuttic and Shupp didn't do their share of morale boosting when they could.

Around the middle of April, Mazza brought up freshman pitcher Alexa Panuccio from junior varsity to replace Cuttic while she recuperated, and paired her with freshman catcher Julia Sledz, already on the varsity roster, while Shupp rehabilitated.

The Hawks rallied around Panuccio, and together they defeated Allen 8-0 and Freedom 3-0 on the Patriots' home field.

No sooner had Cuttic returned to the pitcher's mound when she was forced out by appendicitis, so back came Panuccio. Shupp eventually returned too, but played first base, initially.

"There were times when we were down and out. Things looked bleak," said Mazza.

By the end of the regular season, the Hawks had two losses to Liberty, and one loss to Freedom, and the last thing a Bethlehem team wants is a loss to a city rival, never mind three.

The Hawks finished fourth in their division, and lost in the first round of conference playoffs to, of all teams, the Hurricanes.

By the end of May, however, things began to change again.

The Hawks squeaked by Bangor in the District XI Class 3A semifinal with Panuccio on the mound, only to win the district championship against Southern Lehigh. That would be the first time Cuttic pitched, albeit as a reliever, in four weeks.

"When Elyse said she was ready, I believed her," said Becahi pitching coach Chuck Billy. "Once she went in the game, you could see our team get jacked up. Besides that, she's a lefty, she's quick, and she's proficient."

After that game, Cuttic admitted she had not been throwing as hard as usual because of her recent surgery.

"I didn't know she was not throwing as hard," said Billy.

For the Hawks, their postseason momentum was about to continue the into state playoffs.

"After districts, I started to feel this might be the year," Mazza said. "Elyse was getting healthier, Courtney [Shupp] was coming around, and Tash's [Miner] ankle was getting better."

The Hawks stayed with their winning formula: Panuccio started in the first game of states, and Cuttic relieved. Panuccio then pitched a shutout in the quarterfinal.

Now, only one game would stand between a trip to the state final for Becahi.

"We had the team meeting, and when Elyse said, 'I want the ball,' I knew," said Billy. "She's talented, and I knew when she put her mind to it, she would come through."

Shupp wanted something too in that semifinal game. She wanted to catch.

Both coaches agreed and hung on to that feeling right through the state final.

"I would call this a success story," Mazza said.

Of course, the story would not be complete without players Maddie Ensley, Jess Indelicato, Morgan Christine, and Martina Calluori, coaches Bob Breitfeller, KC Carpenter, David King, Val Rutt-Guerriere, and the fans who encouraged them on their road to success.