Brandon Jenny knew he didn’t have his best outing of the season. However, the junior lefthander certainly looked like he did.

Jenny hurled a one-hit, five-inning 12-0 shutout over Northern Lehigh May 7. It was an impressive showing, but it also was a pivotal victory in the Rough Riders’ district playoff drive.

Monday afternoon, the Roughies jumped out to a 1-0 lead over Colonial League favorite Northwestern, but the host Tigers’ Carter Welch twirled a no-hitter in an 11-1, five-inning victory. Anthonie Hunsicker scored the lone run on an error.

With the defeat, Catty dropped to 8-9 overall, and the Roughies needed to win two of their final three games against Moravian Academy, Wilson, and Lehighton to qualify for the postseason.

Editor’s note - the Roughs beat Moravian Academy 19-6 on Tuesday and now need one more win

Against Northern Lehigh, Jenny realized he was off to a slow start.

“I didn’t feel like I was throwing as well as I could in the beginning,” said Jenny, who had 12 strikeouts over 67 pitches. “We worked through it, and we got it.

“I threw all fastballs, and me and (catcher) Cole (Schiffer) knew it was there. They couldn’t get around on it, and we just kept throwing the fastball.”

Jenny had a similar feeling about the season. This year, Jenny has a 3-2 mark with a 3.21 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.

“In the beginning of the season, it was a little rough,” he said. “I had a little bit of tightness in my shoulder blade, but (trainer) John (Capozzolo) helped me, and I feel a lot better.

“We came together as a team, and we are way better than we were at the beginning of the season.”

Schiffer has watched Jenny develop over the season.

“That was one of the better games he has thrown all year,” said Schiffer. “He definitely has a lot more velocity on his fastball, and this curveball over the year has gotten a lot better.

“He’s the guy we want to go with in big games. He’s our best.”

Schiffer also gained his share of accolades. He is hitting .396 with 11 RBIs. Hunter Reitz leads the team in RBIs with 14 and is hitting .317.

“Two years ago when we played, I had a good season hitting,” said Schiffer. “All last year when the season got canceled, all I worked on was hitting. I’m continuing to get the motions down, keeping it right, and trying to take the ball to all fields.

“Right now, I feel like I’m hot.”