In the middle of a busy fall season, Catasauqua baseball’s program managed to get some valuable time on the diamond.

The Rough Riders participated in the East Penn Conference Fall baseball program, and competed against Northampton, Nazareth, Dieruff, Pleasant Valley, Bethlehem Catholic, Freedom, and Easton.

Former Roughies’ standouts Kyle Martell and Hunter Reitz directed the program with seven varsity players and three junior varsity players from last year’s program, as well as three incoming freshmen.

They played 10 games in a season that began the first week of September and ran through the first week of October. The Roughies then participated in a single-elimination, round-robin tournament in which they were eliminated by Easton

Martell noted that he and Reitz worked to get everyone equal playing time aside from the tournament.

“That was the only game where not everyone got in at least for a couple of innings and an at bat,” said Martell. “It was single elimination, and we went with the most experience we had available.”

Martell appreciated the loose format.

“We didn’t necessarily keep a score book,” said Martell. “There were free moves, no restrictions on how many kids were in the lineup, etc.

“We didn’t keep any stats for pitching or hitting.”

On the mound, Alex Bolmer, Reese Savercool, and Ayden Getz handled the bulk of the pitching.

“We got what we’ve been getting from Alex and Reese, and that’s good pitching,” stated Martell. “Ayden who threw for JV last season showed signs that he can be consistent and pitched a very nice fall season.”

At the plate, Asael Gonzalez, Cody Roth, Steel Martell, Chase Jarrah, and Trevor Hartzell all were steady contributors.

“Asael Gonzalez, Cody Roth, Steel Martell all had consistently had good at-bats,” added Martell. “Chase Jarrah, and Trevor Hartzell had a much better second half. Matthew Surita certainly contributed as well with good at-bats this fall.”

Overall, Martell saw a productive campaign.

“We were competitive in every game except the Nazareth game,” said Martell. “By competitive, I mean we lost games by no more than a couple of runs.”

Martell also noted that varsity manager Steve Bradley was impressed and saw a bright future.

“He was at the last couple of games,” recalled Martell. “He relayed to the kids that he liked what he saw, competitive baseball against much larger schools and he’s looking forward to the spring season.”