A few weeks ago, Northampton’s Lehigh Valley Connie Mack (LVCM) team faced the arduous task of a stretch of six games in seven days.

Head coach Steve Kerbacher wasn’t sure how his club would respond to challenge, as it could greatly impact their season. In the end, though, Kerbacher and his team eventually saw the test as one that would leave its mark for quite some time.

Northampton finished the streak on a high note and qualified for one of four state playoff berths. Kerbacher saw the completion and victory (10-2) of a suspended game against Pen Argyl as the key to their postseason.

They sealed the deal with a 3-2 comeback win over Catasauqua in their final regular season game. Ironically, they had a rematch with the Roughies in the second round of the LVCM playoffs Wednesday.

“We struggled early during the stretch,” said Kerbacher about the streak. “In the sixth game, we came back to beat Pen Argyl and that pushed us over the top. We all pulled it together.

“I had three starting pitchers on vacation and one of them was injured. We had to depend on people off our bench and some of them came through. We had a true team effort.”

In the victory over Catasauqua, Northampton truly enjoyed the moment.

“We’re very happy to get to the state tournament,” said Kerbacher. “We had a great game against Catty and we knew it would be a good one. We scored two runs in the sixth and then we held on in the seventh.

“But we also needed some help and we got that. It turned out that it was a three-way tie for the fourth spot and we got the tiebreaker because we beat Emmaus and Catty.

“We were glad to have the extra day off because it can be difficult playing 19 games in 42 days. It was nice to give our pitchers an extra day off. Our kids are very excited and focused to be here.”

Kerbacher sees the playoffs as a highly competitive bracket, believing any of the top 12 teams can move ahead to the next round. He also isn’t overly concerned with another game with Catty.

“These teams are very evenly matched and any of the teams are capable of winning,” he said. “We are very happy to be playing at home.

“I don’t think the Northampton-Catty rivalry will get in our kids’ heads. They are very happy just to be playing and we have great chemistry.”

Kerbacher wasn’t sure who would start the game. In the last matchup, Evan Zwolenick threw a complete-game victory.

“We’re not sure who will go,” said Kerbacher. “They saw him (Zwolenick) and they may have figured out how to hit him. We’ll talk it over and see.”

Kerbacher also doesn’t see his club having any kind of letdown.

“I don’t see any complacency at all,” added Kerbacher. “Our intensity has been there and it will stay. We’ll be ready to go.”