FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - A late Tamaqua rally came up just short Tuesday afternoon in a huge Schuylkill League softball showdown against North Schuylkill.

Battling back with clutch at-bat after clutch at-bat in the seventh inning, Tamaqua fell one hit short and dropped a 4-3 decision."We had that one bad inning mentally, and that killed us," said Tamaqua coach Jillian Barron. "North Schuylkill is a good team. We showed that we can battle from behind. We just came up a little short."What weighed in the balance for both teams was sustaining life for a wild card berth in next Monday's Schuylkill League softball playoffs. The Division I, II and III champions have already clinched berths. The only spot remaining is the Division 1 wildcard."My heart is still pounding," sighed winning manager Dominic Grasso. "This was a do-or-die, and we did it against a great team. Tamaqua is a great team, let me just say that."The two teams, who have now split their regular season games, are part of a logjam with Pottsville. All three teams have 9-4 league records with one game remaining. Pottsville and North Schuylkill meet today, while the Raiders host Lehighton in their league finale on Thursday.That scenario could very well have been a moot point had the Raiders found an extra hit or two in the bag.Trailing 4-1 in the seventh, Tamaqua finally found some offense. Back-to-back extra-base hits ignited the rally as Miranda Chinchar tripled and Cailyn Joseph followed with a double. An RBI single by Jada Schellhammer made it 4-3 with still no one out in the inning.However, winning pitcher Haley Burd quickly found her composure getting a pop up, a fielder's choice groundout and a strikeout to ward off the threat.Prior to the seventh, Tamaqua's only run came in the fourth inning when Courtney Hoffman reached on a bunt single and eventually scored on a Joseph single.Joseph's hit tied the game at 1-1, but it didn't stay that way long as the Spartans answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-1 lead."You know this is never over until you get that final out," said Grasso as he watched his team come back from a loss to Pine Grove Monday. "We got pounded and then we come back with a game like this in a big situation. You can't ask for more."Oh yes he can. Today's task is getting by Pottsville. And if the Spartans do that, the possibility of another meeting with Tamaqua to decide the final Schuylkill playoff berth is a possibility.AROUND THE DIAMOND ... North Schuylkill played error-free, and socked out three doubles as part of a seven-hit attack. Schuylar Ossman had a pair of doubles and Megan Sacco added two singles. Joseph had two of Tamaqua's five hits.PITCHING WHIZZES ... Burd, who threw over 130 pitches in a loss Monday, came back with a solid effort. She struck out five on 82 pitches, 64 for strikes. Shellhammer had a lot of hop on her ball, getting nine strikeouts. She walked just one and threw 91 pitches, 70 for strikes.Tamaqua 000 100 3 - 4 5 1No. Schuylkill 100 300 x - 4 7 0Shellhammer and Zeller; Burd and Marlow. W - Burd L - Shellhammer