New Whitehall baseball coach Eric Schmitt received a nice perk after he took over the head baseball position.

The Zephyrs traveled to Myrtle Beach. S.C, recently for two scrimmages before they return home for their season opener against Allentown Central Catholic March 29.

“It was supposed to happen and it was paid for, but then COVID hit,” said Schmitt. “It is nice to go down there, but we would probably be better suited to have some scrimmages here.

“This will be my first time seeing them play as well.”

Schmitt is undertaking his first high school job, but he is no stranger to Lehigh Valley baseball. An Allentown native, Schmitt later played at Wilson.

He has had assistant coaching stops at Wilson, Freedom, and Northampton Community College. In addition, Schmitt has played in the Tri-County League and also was a player-manger on Martins Creek in the Blue Mountain League, where he guided his teams to four championships in 14 years.

Schmitt also coached in the Allentown Drive for underprivileged youth as well as the Rising Stars Baseball Academy.

He succeeded Shaun O’Boyle, who posted a 123-96 record over 11 seasons. The Zephyrs just fell short of the district playoffs last year with an 8-12 mark.

“Coach Schmitt comes to Whitehall with experience at the high school, college, and adult baseball levels,” said Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman in a release. “His experience is diversified and varied.”

Schmitt, who spent last year in Florida and moved back to Coplay, thought Whitehall was the perfect fit.

“I saw the opening and spoke to some people about it,” he noted. “I was super excited and loved the idea. I have two daughters in the school system now, and in a year-and-a-half, I’ll have another.

“I live two minutes from the field, and can be there in a drop of a hat.”

Schmitt sees his team in an aggressive underdog role.

“I like how Whitehall has a chip on its shoulder,” said Schmitt. “They’re smaller than a lot of schools (in the East Penn Conference (EPC), but they battle.

“We’re going to be young with not a ton of experience. But these guys have put in an incredible amount of hard work. They have been lifting four days a week in a college-type program. We have had about 17 guys for each workout, and they are very excited.”

Schmitt indicated that he could have as many as eight pitchers this spring in a “Tampa Bay Rays” type of system where he uses a number of pitchers in a game.

Seniors Gabe Guzy, Nick Kaintz and Nick Lindenmuth along with sophomores Dylan Carfara, Aurelias Haddad, Evan Kovalchik are all expected to log some innings.

“All of these guys have looked good,” offered Schmitt. “We think we can have some stability. We have to watch our inning limit, and we can with a group. I think we can be stronger as a whole.”

Guzy, Carfara, Kovalchik, Kaintz, and junior Jace Duld should be around the infield. Sophomore Rob Yankowy will be behind the plate and senior Matt Bernhard also should see some time there.

Senior Bryce Bashore will be in centerfield flanked by junior Dylan Koury in left and Lindenmuth and junior Tyler Mastropieri likely in left. Junior Alex Kotsch also is expected to be a regular contributor.

Even though his team could experience some growing pains, Schmitt has high expectations.

“We think we can challenge a lot of teams out there,” added Schmitt. “We’re not thinking about a rebuilding year. We believe we can play well this year.

”This won’t be my first rodeo.”