When the Liberty High School softball head coach position opened up, Joon Huh seemed to be the right fit for the job. He was an assistant last year, but took over the program after Lindsay Barnes left the program earlier in the school year.

Huh won his first league game 7-6 over Juanita on March 24 in walk-off fashion as senior Jelly Davies drew a bases loaded walk to cap off a six-run comeback.

“They had determination the whole time. They were loud in the dugout the whole time. They knew it was 6-0 but it wasn’t like they peppered us to get the six runs. We knew that our bats were going to bet hot and that is what happened,” Joon Huh said.

In the first four innings, Juanita seemed to have a handle on Liberty. Malina Acaveda had an infield single in the third as the only hit. But a double from Acaveda seemed to turn the tide with one out in the fifth.

Two singles later from Abigail Handlin and Mikayla Kato helped Liberty find their way on the scoreboard. With two outs and the bases loaded Avery Huh bounced a single to left scoring Kato and Berlyn Crockett and at the end of the fifth inning Liberty trailed by just two, 6-4.

The Patriots were down to their final three outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kato worked a leadoff walk which brought up senior Kaila Siu. The centerfielder was 0-3 with a strikeout before she took a 2-0 fastball deep to left field for the game tying home run.

“She’s a baller,” Huh said.

Siu knew it was a homer right off the bat.

“I was looking for the inside half and as soon it came off the bat it felt amazing. I was going 0-3 at that moment so it feels good,” Siu said.

At that very moment it seemed that Liberty had stole every bit of momentum and it was just a matter of time until the game was over.

After the home run, Liberty would then draw three consecutive walks. Bringing Davies to the plate with the bases loaded. Davies started her at bat down 0-2 right as she seemingly stepped in the box. She then battled her way to a 10-pitch walk, sending home Isabella Rockey for the winning run.

“That was fantastic. I knew that she was going to do something good. I knew 100% that she wasn’t going to strike out in that situation,” Huh said.

This year’s Liberty side has three seniors, Siu, Davies and catcher Emi Connell. All three came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh and had a positive at bat under pressure after struggling all game.

The three can carry an offense and they rely on their experience playing fastpitch to succeed.

“Keila is the spark plug of the team, never gives up. Emi is the worker and Jelly is kind of the quiet one. It’s really their experience, they have had games like this where they know they can come back,” Huh said.

The relief of accomplishing a comeback comes from the experience of being down and falling behind in the game. For Liberty that happened on pitch three of the game from Avery Huh. Juantia’s leadoff batter Calista Labuguen hit a solo homer in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead that bounced off the top of the fence and found its way over the fence.

“She’s a tough cookie. She doesn’t let one or two pitches bother her. She knows once she let’s go there is nothing she could do about it,” Huh said.

Juanita then scored a run on a pair of errors in the third taking a 2-0 lead before the biggest hit of the game until the seventh inning. In the top of the fifth, after an error, walk and another error loaded the bases. Huh recorded her 10th strikeout of the game bringing up Juanita’s Elliot Parker who got ahold of a Huh pitch to right-center field. Parker’s deep drive hit off the yellow tube on the top of the fenced and bounced over for a grand slam.

Huh didn’t give in after the grand slam, she proceeded to strike out sixth out of the next seven batters she faced to close out the game.

“She’s very persistent she’s very strong mentally. She has that mindset that she is going to get the next one,” Siu said.

Her final line had an eye popping 16 strikeouts, allowing four hits, just one of the six runs was earned while she walked just one Raven on 112 pitches.

“She’s a very quiet leader, a steady energy for the team,” Huh said about his daughter.

The win over Juanita is the second win in a row for the Pats who have yet to win three consecutive games. But it is their second comeback win in a row after coming back from a three-run deficit to down Port Angeles on March 21.

“It shows how strong we are and a force to be reckoned with. All the teams coming up know what we are,” Siu said.

The Patriots are the lone 3A squad in the KingCo Crown division and have faced two of the top teams in Issaquah and Skyline already.

“The team wants it (the challenge). They are saying bring it on. Are we going to be perfect? No, but I believe we will be ready for the 3A tournament when it comes around,” Huh said.

Avery Huh delivers a pitch against Juanita. Ben Ray / The Reporter