After suffering three consecutive division losses, the Zephyr softball team was able to thaw out their bats last Saturday in a win over Catasauqua High School.

Indeed, the bats came alive in a big way, pounding out 11 hits en route to a 13-7 victory over the Rough Riders.

It was a welcome sign from a team that was scuffling a bit at the plate, scoring just four runs in those three games against Lehigh Valley Conference opponents. Head coach Alexis Berg-Townsend has been stressing the importance of offensive consistency and was glad to see it implemented against Catty.

"I was very happy to finally see the offensive side of our game come alive on Saturday," said Berg-Townsend. "As coaches and players, we know it's there; we see it at practice everyday, and hopefully now the confidence is there. The past 2 practices we had worked hard on the mental aspect of hitting and getting in quality at bats at practice, paying particularly close attention to consistency in the swing.

"As a coach, you realize hitting is a lot mental and it is also contagious. Which both were seen at the game on Saturday. Given the confidence the team established in hitting on Saturday, [that] should help us into this very important week."

The game began well for the visiting Zephs as Lauren Mortimer belted a three-run bomb to get them on the scoreboard. Mortimer finished the day with two hits and three RBIs.

The Zephs continually made solid contact, with a number of players taking Catty starting pitcher Kortney Kunkle's offerings right up the middle. One of those players was Madison Kelly who stroked a couple of liners, finishing the game 3-5.

Having that consistent approach at the plate, really changed the fortunes for the Zephs. They were able to mount rallies and keep the lead throughout the game.

The Roughies battled back in the fourth, taking advantage of some miscommunication in the Zephyr outfield, as well as some liners to draw within three runs, 7-4. But Regan Bortz made sure to deflate the hopes of their cross-river foes with a grand slam in the bottom of the frame.

Starting pitcher Andrea Emery had to work out of a few jams, but was able to mix in enough strikeouts (11) to keep the Roughies at bay.

"Andrea has been working hard each day and during each game," said Berg-Townsend. "She will keep us in all games and she becomes more confident and comfortable when she has offensive support behind her, as do all pitchers. Saturday she faced a good hitting team but was able to pitch her game and be successful with it because her team was behind her offensively."

The Zephs defense was shaky at times, committing six errors.

"We are going to have ups and downs defensively, its the name of the game," said Berg-Townsend. "However, we continue to preach the consistency. Saturday, our team had three freshman in the outfield, so it was the first time the three had been out there with one another at the same time.

"Each practice, each game our outfield will continue to get better as they work with one another on coverage, abilities and communication. Taking that aside, both the infield and outfield have to continue to get better on communicating with one another and being more aggressive."

The win now gives them some momentum as they begin another tough week.