OREFIELD - This time, there was no late-inning comeback.

This time, there was no rally in the final at-bat to turn an imminent defeat into an incredible victory.This time, the Tamaqua softball team ran out of magic.It wasn't because the Blue Raiders lacked the opportunity - four hits in the sixth inning had the Tamaqua faithful anticipating another miracle comeback.And it wasn't because the Raiders lacked belief - their dugout was roaring with confidence and hope despite a four-run deficit heading into the seventh inning.This time, opportunity and belief weren't enough. This time, Bangor's defense and pitching - not Tamaqua's offense - made the biggest plays.Tuesday night, Tamaqua's season came to an end with a 5-1 loss to Bangor in the District 11 Class 4A championship game."I'm so proud of this team," said Tamaqua coach Jill Barron. "Losing is never easy and this will hurt for a while. But this group of girls accomplished so much this season."We battled every inning of every game and I think that's the thing I'm most proud of. You saw it again tonight. We weren't able to come all the way back like the last two games, but we certainly made it interesting."After rallying for three runs in the seventh to beat Northwestern in the District 11 quarterfinals, and then scoring twice in the seventh inning and twice in the eighth to beat Bethlehem Catholic in the semifinals, Tamaqua appeared primed for another amazing comeback against the Slaters.Trailing 4-0 entering the sixth, hits by Miranda Chinchar, Jada Schellhammer and Jane Kupchinsky put the Riaders on the scoreboard and brought the tying run to the plate.With runners on first and second, Jen Frederickson drilled a clutch two-out single to center that appeared like it was going to tighten things up even more. But as courtesy runner Maxine Beers sprinted around third and headed toward home, Bangor center fielder Ciarrah Holmqvist made the defensive play of the game.Holmqvist alertly fired a strike to third base to gun down Kupchinsky for the inning's final out, just before Beers reached the plate. Not only did it stop the Tamaqua rally, but it kept the score at 4-1."We had a chance in the sixth inning," said Barron. "Maybe we were a little too aggressive in that situation. But I want our girls to be aggressive and try to force mistakes. Give their outfielder the credit. She realized she didn't have a play at home and made an outstanding throw to third."Despite the enthusiasm and belief coming from the Raider dugout that another seventh-inning comeback was possible, Bangor pitcher Danielle Gannon set down Tamaqua in order in the inning."We couldn't quite pull off another comeback victory," said Cailyn Joseph, the lone senior on Tamaqua's roster. "But we never quit and never stopped believing it was possible."I really thought it was going to happen in the sixth inning, and even in the seventh inning, everyone up and down the roster felt confident that we could find a way. Unfortunately, things didn't go in our favor this time."But while the Raiders couldn't deliver their late-inning magic against Bangor, there was more than enough magic during the season, according to Joseph."This is the most fun I've had in my four years of softball," she said. "I can't thank my teammates enough for giving me this kind of a senior year."We won 20 games, we made it to the Schuylkill League final, and we played in a District 11 championship for the first time in school history. I couldn't have asked for more. It was a magical season."This time, the season truly was.