Liberty second baseman Ava Tomac brought the joy back to the struggling Hurricanes with a two-run homer in a District XI Class 6A softball quarterfinal against Emmaus on May 22 at Emmaus.

Although the Hurricanes lost to the Hornets, 8-2, Tomac’s blast to left field in the sixth inning erased a near shutout and assumably provided some cheer for the bus ride home.

“I heard it right off the bat that it was good, but when I looked out there, it kind of looked short, so I was like, oh gosh. I didn’t think it was gonna make it over,” Tomac said. “I had made it halfway to second (base), and I saw Mikayla (Seacor) slowing down, and they were like, home run, and it was the best thing ever.”

Tomac headed toward third base with her hand covering her mouth in part surprise, part elation.

“I hadn’t been doing really well lately, and I haven’t hit a home run in awhile, so it felt really nice to be able to do that and actually be able to get my hands through the ball this time, so I was really excited,” she said.

It wasn’t the first time Liberty coach Tom Kaleycik had a good feeling about a player when he was preparing Friday’s batting order.

“Ava, originally, was in the two hole, and then we moved her down. I moved her back today,” Coach Kaleycik said. “I just had a feeling, the way she’s been practicing over the last week or so, that she was ready to go back and that she would produce and she did. What a time to do it in a district game, and I was so happy. One of the great joys in being a third base coach...you know the result and you see the look on their face rounding second when they realize they just hit one out. It’s so cool. It gives you goose bumps. It really does, and you’re so happy for the kids.”

Liberty center fielder Mikayla Seacor led off with a hit by pitch, which brought cheers from the Hurricane bench, not because Seacor was hit, but because the ‘Canes got a base runner and a rally.

“For [Emmaus pitcher Mari Eiswerth] to hit someone isn’t very common,” said Seacor, “and that gave us a free base, so everyone was a little excited to get that advantage.”

Seacor shook it off in time for a diving catch in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“I was playing really far back, and those type of hits are really hard to get to, so I knew I was gonna have to dive a lot to make that play, especially in this position where it was their last inning, so I knew I had to do everything to get that ball,” Seacor said. “The ball kind of hopped around in my glove, so I knew I had to do everything so the ball wouldn’t fall out, so I kind of scooped it up in my arms for it to stay. I was really excited. Everyone in the crowd, all of us on our team were really excited, so it was a good feeling.”

Emmaus scored its first run on an error after loading the bases and had three runs apiece in the third and fourth innings.

Liberty held the Hornets scoreless in the fifth inning with two nice plays made by Camryn D’Amico at shortstop and a solid inning by pitcher Addy Smith.

D’Amico had Liberty’s last hit of the season with a single to right center field.

The Hurricanes lost to the Hornets in conference playoffs, 3-2, and in the regular season, 4-0.

“They were two close, really hard-fought games,” said Kaleycik. “Their pitcher was the league MVP for a reason, so we knew how tough she was gonna be. They hit the ball very well today, and Addy had them pretty much, other than the middle of their order, figured out the first two times. This time, they figured her out, at least early in the game, and we made some mistakes, and obviously the result isn’t what we were hoping for.

“All that said, I’m proud of the way the girls played. They fought to the very end. They were frustrated because they really believed they could beat this team, and I believed it too. Hats off to Emmaus. Coach Rich (Giering) and I go back a long way, so I’ll be rooting for him, and hopefully, they go deep into districts.”

The Hurricanes will graduate Smith, first baseman Leah Onia, who had a double in the fourth inning, and third baseman McKenna Beck.

“We only have three seniors, and we are gonna miss them because they were so important to us. They did it all for us, but we do have a young group that’s gonna be one more year more mature, more experienced,” said Kaleycik, who stepped in earlier this season to fill in for Coach Sam Carrodo. “It’s gratifying because I got to do something I never thought I’d get the opportunity to do or never had an inkling I wanted to do. I love coaching with Coach Sam, and he’ll be back next year, and I’ll be happy to step aside and let him take the reins. This is his team after all.”