In his two years as skipper of the Whitehall baseball program, Eric Schmitt has watched his club battle through their share of injuries and slumps.

Last season, the Zephyrs worked their way to a district berth from an overall 10-11 record. They dropped an 8-6 decision to Pleasant Valley in their opener.

This season, Whitehall is back in the district playoffs with an overall 11-9 record, and they have had some nagging injuries.

The second-seeded Zephyrs will meet third-seeded Southern Lehigh (14-6) Saturday at a site yet to be determined at this writing. The winner will meet top-seeded Pocono Mountain East May 28 at a site TBD.

Schmitt has been pleased with his team’s effort and production.

“I am extremely proud of this team,” beamed Schmitt. “We had extensive losses to last year’s pitching staff faced the second-toughest schedule in District 11. Our record is 11-9, but that number really doesn’t do justice to represent how well we have played.”

Sophomore Seth Hoderewski and junior Ryan Lindemuth have paced the Zephyrs on the hitting and pitching fronts.

Hoderewski leads the team with a .429 batting average as well as with five stolen bases, 23 RBIs and 27 hits. Lindenmuth has a 4-2 record and a 1.31 ERA and 38 strikeouts.

Junior Tyler Reichenbach is hitting. 353 and senior Evan Kovalcik is at .328 with 16 RBIs. Senior Rob Yankowy has a .327 clip, and junior Bradley Kibbler is at .364.

On the mound, senior Aurelius Haddad is 2-2 with a 3.88 ERA and 30 strikeouts, and sophomore Jack Lloyd is 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA and 32 punchouts.

“Ryan Lindenmuth and “Sudge” (Seth) Hoderewski both stepped up after having very little varsity time to have MVP-type years,” added Schmitt. “We have gotten great senior leadership from Rob Yankowy and Evan Kovalcik. Tyler Reichenbach had one of the more impressive offensively stat lines spotlighted by a .560 OBP (on-base percentage).”

Schmitt has seen a few victories that were a measuring stick for his club.

“Several games stick out,” said Schmitt. “But I believe the Freedom win and the Parkland win were big. It also was very satisfying to sweep ACC (Allentown Central Catholic) and the (Northampton) Konkrete Kids.”

Schmitt sees a challenge ahead with Southern Lehigh. They didn’t meet this year.

“They are a good squad and efficient,” said Schmitt. “I believe the Colonial League as a whole was very talented this year.

“We will have to be sharp.”