Catasauqua first-year head Connie Mack coach Kyle Martell was pleased that his team achieved some major goals in the regular season.

They capped a successful 10-6 season with an invite to the playoffs that began against East Stroudsburg Monday, but was pushed to Tuesday because of rain.

“We finished 10-6 this season, which in itself is a win for Catty,” said Martell. “The coaches set a goal considering how young we were coming into the season that a .500 season would be a realistic goal.”

The Rough Riders’ inexperience showed in the early going, as they began with a struggling 1-4 start. However, the Roughies rebounded by winning nine of their final 11 the rest of the way.

It was a full maturation of the roster on different levels.

“The younger eighth graders certainly struggled offensively this season, but they held their own defensively in games,” added Martell. “We started slow, and we explained to the kids that our schedule was front loaded with very good competition. Once we got through that, the kids continued to push through it and went on a 9-2 run to end the season.”

Martell noted that their pitching was consistent throughout the season. Reese Savercool has a 4-0 record with a 0.58 ERA, and Alex Bolmer has gone 4- with a 4.44 ERA. Trevor Hartzell also became a mainstay in the bullpen. Savercool also leads the team in hitting with a .452 clip and nine RBIs. Joey Conway also was a constant behind the plate.

“Pitching certainly either put us in good positions to win or won games,” said Martell. “Trevor Hartzell proved to be valuable in relief closing a handful of games, and he also settled in at the plate the last two regular season games with some key hits and knocked in some runs.

“Joey Conway was instrumental behind the plate for us this season. Kept balls in front of him and threw quite a few out attempting to steal. That’s huge when pitchers have that confidence in the guy behind the plate and can challenge hitters more aggressively.”

Win or lose in the postseason, Martell has viewed the season as a total team effort.

“To single any one out that grew is hard,” stressed Martell. “Many of the sophomores and freshman saw very little live pitching during the high school season. They all improved in one way or another.

“The eighth graders they experience a taste of what’s to come this upcoming season as they will be freshman. It was much needed experience for just about all of them.

“I know the coaches are proud of this group. They’ve exceeded our goal we set for this season.”