ASHLAND - Relying on a freshman in the postseason can be a risky proposition for many teams.

Not for North Schuylkill and head coach Dominick Grasso.When Haley Burd assumed the role as the team's No. 1 starter, she barely batted an eye. Burd played a significant role in the Spartans' five game winning streak to end the regular season, and punctuated the run with a no-hitter that included 12 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Shamokin in the regular season finale.But in Thursday's District 11 Class AA quarterfinal against Northern Lehigh, it looked as if that run might come to an end when the Lady Bulldogs jumped on the freshman early.Burd, however, wasn't ready for her breakout campaign to end so soon.The freshman settled in after a rocky start, allowing only three hits over the final four innings to lead No. 4 North Schuylkill to a 3-1 victory over No. 5 Northern Lehigh."Sometimes she gets a little down when she walks somebody or something like that, but now she just snaps right out of it," Grasso said of Burd. "After she gave up that first run, the girls talked to her and told her to just keep doing what she's been doing over the last five games because it was successful. She pitched very well."Northern Lehigh (13-8) got to Burd in the first inning when leadoff hitter Kaitlin Hoffman opened the game with a double.Following a one-out walk by Sage Hargreaves, Burd's counterpart in the circle, Amber Thomas, helped herself with an RBI single to score Hoffman and give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.Northern Lehigh appeared primed to break the game open several times over the next two innings, but it simply wasn't able to capitalize on the scoring opportunities, leaving a total of four runners on base in the second and third innings."We just didn't string enough hits together when we needed them and we left some runners stranded," head coach Bob Hicks said of the eight runners the Lady Bulldogs left on base during the game. "But not to take anything away from them (North Schuylkill). They hit the ball when they needed to and scored some runs; a couple more than we did."Thomas was nearly as dominant as Burd, finishing with seven strikeouts while allowing only one walk in seven innings of work.After recording only one hit over the first three innings, the Spartans (14-7) were finally able to generate some offense in the fourth.Rachel Gricoski reached on an error to open the inning, and Chase Stokes followed with a sharp liner to left field for a single. After a Burd groundout moved Gricoski and Stokes into scoring position, Alex Morgan came to the plate and executed a bunt to score Gricoski and tie the game at 1-1.The momentum carried into the fifth, as Eliza Schally started the inning with an infield single. Tiff Lapotsky followed and was hit by a pitch, and, just like in the fourth, North Schuylkill got a perfectly executed bunt, this time from Kelly Damiter to move Schally and Lapotsky into scoring position.Gricoski cashed in, ripping a single to left field and moving to third on an error, which allowed Damiter and Lapotsky to score to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead.Northern Lehigh had one more chance in the top of the seventh when Maddie Bellesfield opened the inning with a leadoff single and Tiffany Yesik drew a one-out walk.But Burd retired the final two batters to secure the win.Thomas and Taylor Herman each finished with two hits for the Lady Bulldogs."This was a great experience for these kids," Hicks said. "This is a young team…this is building confidence for next year, that's what this is doing."No. Lehigh 100 000 0 - 1 7 2No. Schuylkill 000 120 x - 3 5 2Thomas and D. Hoffman; Burd and Peleschak. W - Burd. L - Thomas.