Catasauqua head softball coach Paige Kogelman likely will remember her team’s 4-0, opening-day victory over Saucon Valley last Saturday. It marked the first victory since the 2019 team finished 0-18.

“It was emotional for the older girls,” she recalled. “Some of them were crying. This was a huge confidence booster for them.

“We started to see a change in the team when he had a chance to work out for about two months and had one scrimmage before we were shut down. We could see a change of mentality in the program.”

Freshman pitcher Delaney Troxell hurled the 11-strikeout, 66-pitch shutout, and she contributed a 3-for-4 performance with a pair of doubles at the plate.

Troxell evidently overcame her early anxiety.

“In the morning of the game, I was very nervous and pacing all over,” she recalled. “But once I threw my first pitch, I felt better. I struck out the first batter, and I felt very confident after that.

“In the last inning, there were two outs, and they had runners on second and third. It was very nerve-racking and we wanted to keep the shutout. It was a very exciting day for all of us.”

Troxell noted that two pitches were primarily effective,

“My screwball was working, and my fastball was getting called on the corner of the plate,” she said. “Hailey Deschaine, our catcher, did a great job in framing pitches, and I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Troxell acknowledged her traveling team experience as well as her experience as a starter on the basketball team this winter as being very beneficial to her adaptation.

“Playing basketball got me pretty confident for softball,” she said. “My travel team helped me with the speed of the game and prepared me overall for this.

“This also was the first win for our coach, and that was important for us, too.”

Along with Troxell - who suffered her first defeat in a 8-1 loss to Palmerton Monday - Kogelman will look to sophomore Alivia June and freshman Amanda Hunsberger for additional pitching duties.

Dechaine, first baseman Marissa Rice, second baseman and outfielder Yesenia Ramos, and center fielder Janessa Ortiz are the lone seniors, and Kogelman will look to them for leadership.

With 22 girls in the program and some JV games on the schedule, Kogelman sees her team taking a stance this season. In some ways, it was a reminder about her successful playing days in the program.

“We definitely have seen improvement, and we do see the passion returning,” she said. “There is the same kind of vibe around when I played. You can see it more.

“People will be shocked to see what we can do this year.”