Palmerton’s softball team had belief.

And with an extra day of practice due to Mother Nature’s interruption, Blue Bomber head coach Bob Hock also felt his squad was more than prepared entering Saturday’s Colonial League quarterfinal contest against Palisades.

But the Pirates — and their ace hurler Karlye Teman — had other ideas.

Once Teman got settled in the circle at Allentown’s Patriots Park and received offensive support from her teammates, it was second-seeded Palisades that advanced with a convincing 11-1 victory.

“Yeah, we came into the game with confidence (facing Teman again),” said Hock, whose team lost to the Pirates pitcher 7-4 during the regular season in late April. “We worked hard on speed, and obviously location this past week at practice.

“They certainly came out swinging and showed that confidence. But it was short-lived as she started getting the better of our batters in some big spots.”

Palmerton leadoff hitter, senior Mikayla Pengelly, got her team off on the right foot as she laced a 2-1 pitch to left for a single, while Tessa Sander delivered a one-out single that sent Pengelly to third. After a second out, Hailey Delgado beat out an infield hit that plated Pengelly with the game’s first run and a 1-0 Bombers lead.

That, however, would prove to be Palmerton’s lone highlight as Teman was nearly spotless the rest of the way, finishing with 16 strikeouts over six innings.

That didn’t mean the Bombers didn’t have baserunners. Teman walked three — Leah Prutzman (in the second inning), Samantha Wolfe (fourth) and Mackenzie Ferber (sixth) — while two others reached on third-strike passed balls.

“When we did get some runners out there, we did not execute small things,” Hock said. “When the game’s close, small things are magnified, and as the game slips away, you kind of forget about execution on those smaller detailed-like plays.”

The Pirates took a 2-1 lead in the home third when Catie Russo doubled home a run and Aubrey Boushell delivered an RBI single.

The advantage swelled an inning later when Palisades pushed across four more on run-scoring hits by Jordyn Bonelli, Russo and Boushell.

Another four-run frame in the sixth by the Pirates ended the game via the 10-run rule. Key hits in the last inning were RBI doubles by Teman and Rhiley Poniktera.

Palmerton, despite the disappointment of the loss, will turn the page and start preparing for the district playoffs.

“We came in ready, and we had high hopes we could compete with these teams,” Hock said. “Unfortunately, we just always seem to have one or two bad innings a game. It’s kind of how our season has gone, and this was just another example of today.

“But it’s not going to be a heavy lift to pick their spirits up. They were in pretty good spirits afterwards. Obviously, we wanted to do better and win the game, win two games, win three games. Our goal was to make playoffs, and we did make the leagues. And districts. So, we accomplished those goals.”

NOT QUITE OVER YET … Palmerton is currently sitting in the sixth spot in the Class 4A district rankings. As of now, that would mean a matchup against Blue Mountain, although the seeds at the top of the rankings could change due to who wins their respective league titles. “We talked about taking some days off, but they told me they would rather practice more,” Hock said. “So, we will accommodate their requests and work on what we have to work on.”

ON A ROLL … Unfortunately for the Bombers, Palisades has been playing its best when things matter most. Since a 6-2 setback to Northwestern in mid-April, the Pirates won 11 games in a row leading into the CL playoffs.

UP NEXT … The No. 2 seeded Pirates will return to Pates Park on Tuesday to face Pen Argyl semifinals. The No. 3-seeded Green Knights knocked off sixth-seeded Northern Lehigh 12-2 in their quarterfinal contest.

BOMBER HITS ... Other than the three hits in the first inning, the only other one that Palmerton had was a single by Madeline Thomas in the sixth.

Palmerton 100 000 - 1 4 1

Palisades 002 414 - 11 13 0

Barry, Sander (6) and Delgado; Teman and Kelleher. W - Teman. L - Barry.

Records: Palmerton (9-10); Palisades (18-3).