Heading into the 2021 Emmaus Hornets Connie Mack season, coach Dustin Wertheimer wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

“I have no idea what to expect for the season record-wise,” Wertheimer said. “I hope we play hard every game this season and if we do, our record will reflect it.”

The season record of 6-10 was mediocre. However, the Hornets played hard all season, kept a good attitude and developed their skills, which should pay dividends for the Emmaus baseball program moving forward.

The roster of T.J. Ashelman, Joe Cook, Jared Diaz, Jarod Frailey, Karon Krasley, Brandon Leader, Zack McEllroy, Brian Merk, Jackson Merk, Nate Sauer, Noah Schurman, Ben Sieger, Haven Tarbox, Mason Uyvari and Zack Wertheimer all contributed to the Hornet cause.

Perhaps as important, the team showed promise throughout and was competitive in most games.

McEllroy was a consistent hitter all season. In a June 12 loss to Jim Thorpe, number 16 went 3-for-4, with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Muckey was hot for a stretch, including a 3-for-4, two stolen base performance in a South Parkland loss June 23. For the most part, the Hornets were a respectable hitting club, also receiving contributions at times from Tarbox, Sieger and Uyvari.

At times, Sauter and Ashleman pitched well. The duo combined to surrender just one earned run in a 3-1 loss to Freemansburg.

The Hornets struggled with timely hitting, pitching control and errors. For example, in a five-game stretch from June 21 through June 30, the Hornets bashed in 43 runs, but only went 3-2. In a June 25 defeat to Franklin Township, Emmaus rallied in the last of the seventh and had various opportunities to push across the winning run, but could not get a big hit.

Emmaus issued 10 walks in a 10-4 loss to Central Catholic on June 14. The club committed four or more errors in each of its final five games.

The Hornets finished 16th out of 24 Lehigh Valley Connie Mack teams, overall scoring 105 runs and surrendering 118.