ELDERSBURG — Liberty's dugout grew quiet when Catoctin scored the first run of the game, but junior pitcher Lexi Trail put her hands together and told her teammates to be loud.
The Lions didn't want to go down without a fight, and they wouldn't.
Catoctin held off Liberty 3-2 to capture the Class 2A West region title Friday, and the Lions' season concluded with a second consecutive region final loss.
"We had a hard-working, crazy season," senior center fielder Kasey Bost said. "That's how it is every year, especially coming into playoffs. We know every game is going to be tough and we knew this team was really good so it shows our potential because we played a heck of a game and we're proud of that."
The Cougars (19-3) had two outs and a runner on second in the third inning when Jessica Bryant, Catoctin's pitcher, hit an RBI single that brought Michaela Persinger home the first run. Lions junior first baseman Ashlyn Weisgerber played a role in three consecutive outs the following inning that kept the one run deficit in place.
Liberty senior catcher Meghan Jacobs laced a triple into the left-center field gap to lead off the fourth inning and scored on a groundout from junior Sarah Leonard, tying the game at 1-1.
When Bost ripped a ball over the left fielder's head in the fifth to put the Lions up 2-1, her teammates greeted her as she sped for home.
"I saw the ball and just kept running," Bost said. "I saw my teammates cheering and my heart started hurting, I got so excited."
Catoctin had two outs with two runners on base in the sixth inning. Freshman third baseman Raegan Smith hit an RBI triple that brought both runners in to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead, and the eventual victory.
"Lexi's a great pitcher and we worked a lot yesterday on getting our foot down and getting our hands in the zone to put the ball in play," Cougars coach Jessica Valentine said. "We wanted to make the defense work and it happened. We weren't crushing the ball by any means but we found holes when it mattered."
Liberty (17-4) had the tying run at third base in the sixth but didn't score, and Bryant set down the Lions 1-2-3 in the seventh.
The Cougars are back in the state tournament for the first time since 2013 and Valentine said her team is "pretty pumped." They will play North East in the state semifinal on Tuesday at Bachman Park in Glen Burnie.
"We knew it would be a great game and Liberty's very talented and the top of their lineup is tough so we just had to stick with them and they came through."
Lions coach Chris Szocik had expected his team to win, but said that it wouldn't be an easy feat by any means. The Lions had their baserunners, but they couldn't register enough clutch hits in those situations.
"It was tough the way they came back because we had two outs, their four-hitter went with a pitch the other way," Szocik said. "The next girl hit a ball just out of reach of the shortstop, just out of reach of the center fielders so it wasn't meant to be I guess."
All of the Lions' losses this season were decided by one run. They advanced to the region final after defeated South Carroll 1-0 and before that, triumphed over Century 7-3.
Liberty lost to Middletown in the 2A West final last year, and the Knights went on to capture the state championship.
"It's tough because we keep blowing it in this regional game, it's the second year in a row," Szocik said. "We had another great season and we've had five great seasons in a row and won states in 2012, but the rest we can't seem to get past the regional game."
An emotional Bost didn't hesitate to praise the team she became so close with over the course of four years.
"It's been amazing," she said. "All four years we've had amazing players and Meghan, Lexi [Jones] and I ... our freshman year we were just babies so it was awesome coming to this team and in general, softball has taught me so much."
Catoctin 001 020 0 — 3 7 1
Liberty 000 000 0 — 2 5 2
C-Jessica Bryant and Virginia Morris; L-Lexi Trail and Meghan Jacobs. 3B: C-Raegan Smith; L-Jacobs. HR: L-Kasey Bost. WP: Bryant. LP: Trail.
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