One bad inning burned Matt Leon in the Lehigh Valley Conference semifinals a week ago.

He didn't let another shaky postseason frame end his high school career.

When his Liberty teammates gave him a second lead Wednesday, Leon went into shutdown mode. He tossed three straight scoreless innings before No. 4 Whitehall managed a meaningless seventh-inning run.

Leon pushed his pitch count to 122 to finish what he started, a 7-3 win in the District 11 Class 4A baseball quarterfinals. He never considered turning the ball over to a teammate even after taking a line drive off his pitching hand in the bottom of the sixth.

Leon's workhorse outing lifted fifth-seeded Liberty (15-7 overall) into Friday's district semifinals. The Hurricanes will face top-seed Parkland (18-5), which rolled to a 10-2 win over No. 8 Freedom, in a 7 p.m. game at Hackett Park in Easton.

Liberty will have to win Friday to give Leon a chance to pitch another high school game. If Wednesday marked the end of his time as a Hurricanes pitcher, he produced a memorable conclusion.

When Liberty finished shaking hands with the Zephyrs (16-6), Leon ran toward the dugout calling for ice. His right hand began to swell as soon as a line drive from Whitehall catcher Ryan Bonshak smashed into him. After the game, stitch marks were visible where the baseball struck Leon's hand.

"I guess he hit it pretty hard," Leon said with a laugh.

Liberty coach Andy Pitsilos wasn't in a joking mood after seeing his ace get drilled. Leon was dazed at first after Bonshak's liner hit him, but he recovered to find the ball. He then fired a wild throw to first for an error before calling for a trainer.

After he was examined, Leon was given the chance to test his hand with a couple of warm-up pitches. The first one sailed high, forcing catcher Abner Santana to leap from his crouch to catch it. Leon's second warm-up pitch hit Santana's mitt, and he assured Liberty's coaches and medical staff he could continue.

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Liberty baseball team beats Whitehall, reaches District 11 4A semifinals