As the calendar flips to June, the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League season will heat up, and the Coplay team hopes they'll make another postseason appearance on the strength of its fielding.

Last year Coplay finished 10-8 and was eventually eliminated from the LVLBL playoffs by West Allentown, 9-8.

This year they'll be ready to mount another charge, and have gotten off to a 1-1 start, putting them in a five-way tie for second place early in the season.

Assistant coach Will Loy said that they'll have to turn to some young kids on the mound since some of the pitchers that helped them get to the postseason haven't returned. While they'll be missing some experience on the hill, they do have last year's LVLBL ERA leader on their roster, Richard Yost, who posted an 0.38 mark, as well as Daniel Lloyd who turned in an 0.84 ERA last season.

They'll also feature Austin Dreisbach, Bryce Crum, Zachary Hamscher, Tyler Kline and Nate Wechsler.

"Right now it's a really young pitching staff," said Loy.

While Lloyd has yet to make a start and Matt Hassick is playing Blue Mountain ball, Will Loy said that they'll be relying on a really strong defense to keep them competitive all season.

Infielders on this year's team include, Nathan Dekorte, Hamscher, Tyler King, Tyler Kline, Lloyd, Will Loy IV, Adam Miller, Jarrod Miller, Matthew Miller and Wechsler. The outfielders include Gianni Sinatore, Crum, Anthony Dex, Noah Kline, Yost, Zachariah Samir and Anthony Shorten. Catching will be Dreisbach and Noah Kline.

Loy also said that they'll be a good offensive team, with some of that firepower on display when they met Emmaus last week. They won that game 5-2. Leading the way was shortstop Matt Miller who went 2-for-3, including a triple. He also knocked in a run and scored a run.

Additionally, Will Loy IV went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Yost was 1-for-3 as will, including an RBI. Will Loy said that they got RBIs from five different players, underscoring their ability to hit the ball, especially with runners in scoring position.

"We can hit the ball," said Loy.

Yost got the win, going five innings and striking out seven and walking four for his first victory of the season.

Loy believes they have the capability of being .500 or better this season. It all comes down to who shows up since the pull of other school sports, along with family vacations, can wreak havoc on their baseball fortunes.

"It becomes a situation when you always don't get the same core kids every night," said Loy.

Still, he believes they have the ability to be a good team with their defense leading the way.