Youth and confidence can be a combustible mix for any team enjoying momentum and Bethlehem Catholic got themselves a boost in that department following Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Liberty at Coca-Cola Park.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Becahi’s Andrew Posch drew in a walk to bring home the winning run to give the Hawks (4-2, 2-2) their biggest win of the season.

“When you have a group of young kids come together, you can never underestimate the power of youth,” said Hawks head coach Mike Grasso, who recorded his 352nd career victory with the win over the Hurricanes. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now and we’re doing it on all three levels of the field, from pitching, defense and scoring runs.”

David Angelucci got the win for the Hawks after allowing only four hits on the night, as the Hawks pitching and defense has been the keys to their start to the season.

“Pitching and defense wins games,” Grasso said. “We have a lot of confidence on defense and we’re not hurting ourselves in that department like we have the past two years.”

The Hawks hope they can continue that momentum this week with games against Pleasant Valley (3-3), Dieruff (0-4) and Central Catholic (2-3).

“We’ve got three games a week for the next three weeks,” said Grasso. “We have to keep this up if we want to reach our goal of getting to the postseason.”

Freedom (7-1, 4-1) is on their way to clinching a postseason berth nearly midway through the season, as the Pates won their third straight on Monday following a 3-0 victory over Nazareth.

Alec Huertas got the win on the mound in convincing fashion, giving up one hit and striking out seven, while Evan Callahan continues his hot streak at the plate, as he knocked in two runs. Callahan also had a bases clearing double in last Friday’s 8-4 win over Allen.

“My first year at Freedom we had a start just like this,” said Pates head coach Nick D’Amico. “This group of players reminds me of that team.”

With East Stroudsburg North (2-5) and Easton (4-1) on the slate this week, D’Amico wants his team to stay focused.

“I’m not worried about them being overconfident,” he said. “It’s good to play with confidence. They can’t become complacent and just need to continue to get better.”

Liberty (4-2, 2-2) has had a mixed bag of results so far, but the ’Canes look to get consistency this week with games against Pocono Mountain West (0-4) and Allen (1-4).