A high school baseball season can be a frustrating thing. That has been the case for the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers and first-year head coach Chad Cooperman.

Through eight games, the Tigers are 3-5 overall and 3-4 in the Colonial League. On Monday, they got to take out some frustrations against Moravian Academy (0-7 overall, 0-7 Colonial) in a 15-0 win against the Lions.

“I think it was good to have a game like this,” admitted Cooperman. “The hitters were able to have some success and the pitching was good and that might be what we needed to get some momentum going.”

This year’s Northwestern team is young and simply by playing games it will get better as the players gain some varsity experience. Cooperman is happy with how the team is working and believes that things will get better quickly.

“The guys are responding well to what we are doing, and they are putting in a good effort and are focused on what we need to do to win,” Cooperman noted. “Right now, we just need to gain that experience and work on getting consistency and we will be a better team.”

Overall, the team has just three senior starters on a regular basis. Ben Boyer is leading the team in hitting with a .444 average and fellow senior Dylan Witkowski is batting .400 through the first eight games. Sophomores Justin Augustus (.429) and Chase Moyer (.389) are second and fourth in hitting, respectively with freshman Eli Zimmerman fifth with a .312 average as he continues to see increasing playing time.

On the mound, Boyer leads the team in innings with 21 and has a 2.00 ERA over his five appearances. Witkowski has made three appearances this season with a 2.62 ERA and Romig stands at a 4.20 ERA after four outings.

“Offensively, we need some confidence and I’m hoping that scoring 15 runs against Moravian will help with that,” said Cooperman. “As far as pitching, the important thing there is just gaining consistency. The players are starting to step up and I think we are going to see some improvement, especially in pitching, over the rest of the season.”

Experience is also helping the large contingent of young players on the roster, who simply lack varsity experience. Augustus has changed positions and is handling the catching and doing well at his new position as he works to learn the pitching staff. Zimmerman has shown that his success on the basketball court translated to baseball, and he is seeing time in the outfield where he is able to put his speed and range on display.

“I think those two guys have done a nice job and they have really helped us,” said Cooperman of his catcher and center fielder.

As for the coach himself, Cooperman, who a year ago was playing college baseball at Bloomsburg University, is enjoying the experience and just like his young players, is learning his new role as the season goes on.

“I think one thing that I overestimated was their overall baseball IQ, especially when it comes to situational stuff,” Cooperman said. “Next season we will have to put more of an emphasis on that in camp and we are working on it now throughout the season. The kids are starting to gel, and I know they are working at it to get better and that’s all you can ask. I am enjoying it and I enjoy being around the players and watching them develop as players and show what they can do on the field. They’re a good group of kids and a lot of fun to be around.”