The Whitehall baseball team completed another successful season this year, earning a trip to the postseason with a young squad which should mean that a bright future's in store for the Zephyrs.

The Zephs finished last season 9-11, qualifying for the District XI playoffs where they lost to Emmaus High School in the first round.

It was a season in which they experienced some early success, but struggled down the stretch. Manager Shaun O'Boyle said that with that early success their expectations became very big. However, baseball is a game that can humble you very quickly.

"Going into it, we as a coaching staff knew that we would run into some bumps along the way, especially with a young team," said O'Boyle.

He also said that those bumps they'd encounter would most likely magnify when they got into league play since the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is rife with good baseball teams.

The Zephs had trouble this season delivering the big hit with runners in scoring position. O'Boyle said that came down to experience, noting that only three players had a lot of varsity experience, and facing varsity pitching is an big adjustment for a lot of these players.

"A lot of our hitting issues were from a lack of experience," said O'Boyle. "If there was ab Achilles Heel [hitting with runners in scoring position], that was it."

The Zephs lose four seniors, each one playing a major role in their trip back to the District XI playoffs. They lose Jake Meyers, Will Loy, Nicholas Delp and David Gonzalez.

Meyers has been a starter for three years, and anchored their pitching staff this season. He finished the 2015 campaign at 3-3 with a 1.79 ERA. His best outing was perhaps a loss to Parkland, holding the powerful Trojans scoreless through seven innings. The St. Joes'-bound product also batted .338, tops among the team.

Delp emerged as the Zephs catcher this season, batting .276, while Loy saw a lot of playing time as a utility player, and Gonzalez, a transfer from New York, eventually earned a starting position in the outfield.

O'Boyle said that those four were tasked with keeping a young group together, and when their backs were against the wall, needing three wins in their remaining six games to secure a playoff berth, their leadership was a huge factor in securing a spot.

"That was all them, keeping our team together and having a goal," said O'Boyle. "They didn't to go out as seniors without making the playoffs."

O'Boyle said that all were big contributors to their success, paving the way to the postseason.

As for future, the Zephs return the bulk of their roster, many of whom earned were starters this season. The returnees are led by Alex Bruneio who led the team in wins, finishing 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA. They'll also return sophomore pitchers Zach Hamscher, Zach Gilbert and Matt Dobeck, giving then a solid rotation next season.

"When you look at it, we'll have a pretty solid pitching staff the next two years," said O'Boyle.

O'Boyle said that Bruneio is just scratching the surface of how good he can be, while Hamscher has shown signs that he can become a stud as well, and Gilbert is another quality arm that won two games this season.

They also return three of their top four hitters from last season. Dobeck finished second in batting with a .333 average, while Bruneio was third at .317, and Gianni Sinatore was fourth at .300.

Also returning is Ruben "Javy" Rodriguez who led the team in RBIs with 18. followed by Sinatore who knocked in 11.

They'll also return David Laky (. 273) who played first this season, Bryce Crum, Austin Dreisbach, Noah Kilne, Jarrod Miller and Jacob Hess.

"We have a lot of experience coming back," said O'Boyle. "The future's very bright."