When a team is performing well offensively, it can score in waves.

Liberty’s softball team did just that against Pleasant Valley.

Wednesday’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference contest between the Hurricanes and Bears began as if the teams would be trading punches.

That quickly changed when Liberty senior Addy Smith shut the Bears down in the circle and contributed to a non-stop barrage of offense that resulted in a 16-4 victory for the visitors.

The Hurricanes wasted no time getting on the board in the first. Three walks and an RBI-single from Smith opened up an early 3-0 lead.

Pleasant Valley clawed back with three runs in the bottom half. Four singles, including a 2-run knock from Maddie Abbatiello, knotted the score. Abbatiello finished with a positive performance for the home squad, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs overall.

The Canes’ next surge came in the form of two runs in the second, setting the stage for what looked to be an offensive shootout from both sides. But Smith settled in and kept the Bears’ bats quiet. She struck out 10 batters through four innings of work and allowed just one walk and five hits; four of which came in the first stanza.

“When (Addy) gets all of her pitches moving, she’s tough to hit,” Liberty coach Tom Kaleycik said. “And with her velocity to add on top of that, she should be one of the best pitchers in the EPC. The luxury we have is we have four good pitchers. We could interchange them as best we can to get them innings. Addy should always be at her optimal because she’s getting some rest each game.”

After adding another run in each of the next two innings, the Hurricanes’ most devastating wave came in the fifth and in grand fashion. Smith launched a towering grand slam to right field as part of a six-run frame to bust the game wide open.

PV looked to chip away, with Mia Battaglino bringing in a run in the bottom half. But Liberty came back with one final wave in the sixth to finish the job. Leah Onia crushed a no-doubter to left-center field for a two-run homer, and Camryn D’Amico, who homered earlier, provided an RBI double.

In total, nine different Canes earned base hits, including D’Amico, who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, and Smith, who finished 2-for-4 with a grand slam to go alongside her pitching performance.

“If you have a team that can do that consistently, you can go very deep in the league (and) go deep into districts,” said Kaleycik. “We played Bethlehem Catholic yesterday, and we had a similar start to the game where we jumped up and we just kept the momentum going the rest of the game.”

For the Bears, head coach Michelle Albanese saw the game as an opportunity to target areas of her team’s game that need improvement. She also had a motto that she continues to instill into her team’s DNA.

“A lot of the mistakes that we made today weren’t necessarily big physical errors. The mistakes we made seem to be communication errors,” she said. “That’s just going to come through repetition and practice and continuing to talk about those things.

“One of the things that I say often is, ‘We want to win the inning.’ Every inning, we want to do better than the other team, whether that’s scoring one more run, making one less error, whatever that looks like. The more innings we can win, the more games hopefully we can win.”

NO DAYS OFF… Pleasant Valley continues its current stretch of playing four games in four straight days. After back-to-back games against ES North and Liberty, the Bears will travel to Allentown Central Catholic today and then host Saucon Valley on Friday.

BIG TEST… Liberty will have a challenging matchup on Friday against Northampton, who coach Kaleycik claims to be “one of the best teams in the (EPC) league.”

Liberty 321 163 - 16 14 0

Pleasant Valley 300 010 - 4 7 3

Smith, Benner (5) and Doncsecz; Abbatiello, Green (5) and Battaglino. W - Smith. L - Abbatiello. HR: Liberty - D’Amico (3rd, none on); Smith (5th, three on); Onia (6th, one on).

Records: Liberty (2-1; 2-1 EPC); Pleasant Valley (2-1; 2-1 EPC).