She’s a freshman pitching in a postseason tournament game. Let that sink in.

In Friday’s Colonial League quarterfinal softball playoff game, Hailey George pitched a no-hitter to lead Palmerton to a 4-0 victory over Saucon Valley.

George was perfect through the first three and two-third innings, striking out four of the first six batters she faced. In the visitors’ fourth, the Panthers’ Mattie Seyfreid reached on an infield error. After a walk to Savannah Schlegel, Rylan Best was retired on a two-out line drive that first baseman Olivia Kalman speared out of the air.

George’s dominance over the Panthers continued in the top of the fifth when she struck out the side in order. During her stellar performance, the freshman phenom struck out 12 and walked three.

She was unaware of her no-hitter until the game had ended.

“No one said anything to me,” Georg said. “I had no idea.”

She was more happy that her team won than not allowing a hit in the game.

George relied on a repertoire of three effective pitches.

“I mostly threw a two-seam fastball, mixing in a few change-ups and curveballs. When I need to make a big pitch, I’ll throw a two-seamer, but sometimes I’ll change grips and throw a riser.”

Palmerton head coach Robert Hock said that George keeps her poise no matter the importance of the game.

“For a freshman, she has incredible maturity,” said Hock. “Nothing rattles her. When she walks a batter, she’ll step out of the circle and take a deep breath to compose herself. She also has pretty good control so we can adjust our defense depending upon where her pitch location will be.”

The Bombers plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning by doing something Coach Hock has never witnessed before. His first three hitters smacked back-to-back-to-back triples.

Hailey Barry led off with a three-bagger to right center-field. Tessa Sander then smacked a line drive down the right field line and she replaced Barry at third base after her teammate scored the first run. Not to be outdone by the first two batters, Kyla Trumbore slammed a triple past the right fielder to score Sander. After two were out, George helped her own cause with an RBI bunt that popped over the pitcher’s head.

“We’ve been bunting more later in the season,” said Hock. “It’s just another way we can move up runners or in this case, score another run.”

Despite giving up four hits in the opening frame, Saucon’s Mattie Seyfried managed to not only strike out the side, but she whiffed four of the next seven Palmerton batters. She matched scoreboard zeroes with her counterpart before the Bombers pushed their fourth run across in the bottom of the sixth.

Jaylin Strohl led off with an infield single. Grace Schneider laid down a spinning bunt inside the third base line to put runners at first and second. George bunted both runners into scoring position and Strohl scored on an RBI ground out to second.

“I like the bunt,” said Hock, “but we have good hitters. I like them to swing the bats, too. Whatever helps us win games matters this time of year when we are facing good teams in tournaments.”

The Bombers played a solid team game to win, but the afternoon belonged to George who pitched her first high school no-hit shutout. With three varsity seasons still ahead, she might just be adding a few more of these gems to her career.

SHE’S GOT THEIR NUMBER ... On April 8, George blanked the Panthers 10-0 in a mercy rule win. In the two games, she pitched 11 scoreless innings while striking out 23 and allowing just two base hits.

SHARING THE JOY ... Six hitters in Palmerton’s lineup contributed to their win. Barry paced the attack by going 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot.

UP NEXT ... Palmerton is seeded second in the tournament and will play Notre Dame-Green Pond in the semifinals to be held at Patriot’s Park in Allentown on Tuesday. Game time is 4:30 p.m.

Saucon Valley 000 000 0 - 0 0 1

Palmerton 300 001 x - 4 7 1

Seyfried and Schlegel; George and Trumbore. W - George. L - Seyfried.

Record: Saucon Valley (11-8); Palmerton (18-3).