Player of the Week

„ ■ BRANDON JENNY, CATASAUQUA

Not every great player gets to play on a playoff-bound team. Jenny’s season and his career are over at Catasauqua, but the lefthanded pitcher left his mark on the program by continually working hard to get better as an athlete and student.

“We had a very young team this year and we basically put out a JV team every day for varsity,” said Rough Riders coach Steve Bradley. “He carries the load himself and has become super mature.

“When other kids make mistakes, he doesn’t fall apart. He just does his job and pitches. He’s one of the best I’ve ever had.”

Jenny had a record of 2-5 for a squad that finished 6-14, but he kept his team in most games with a 3.55 ERA and had 77 strikeouts in 47 ⅓ innings, which is believed to be the top total for Ks in the Lehigh Valley in the regular season.

But Jenny’s impact went beyond the numbers.

“He has grown up from being a kind of goofy, unfocused ninth grader to the complete opposite,” Bradley said. “He’s mature, focused, a kid who cares about his team. He has done a great job on the mound, including when his team didn’t do a great job behind him.

“I don’t know what his college plans are, but he could certainly play at the next level.”

After his last game this past week at Limeport Stadium, Jenny said he was going to wear his uniform as long as he could.

“We are a small school and we had a lot of young kids come up,” he said. “But we fought. I thought we would go to the playoffs, but we just came up short. I am just proud of how we all cooperate.

“We’re family here at Catty. We just love each other. It doesn’t matter what happens, we’re all here for each other. I think the program is going to be better going forward.”

Jenny is considering a trade school and possibly the military.

Asked what advice he’d give to players entering the program, he said: “Enjoy it because it goes fast.”

Baseball Top 10

Rank, Team, Record, Last time

1. Liberty, 20-1, 1

2. Parkland, 14-5, 2

3. Emmaus, 17-4, 3

4. Nazareth, 15-6, 4

5. Southern Lehigh, 17-3, 6 6. Saucon Valley, 16-2, 7

7. Notre Dame-GP, 17-4, 9 8. Northampton, 12-8, 10

9. NW Lehigh, 14-7, NR,

10. Palisades, 15-5, 8

Dropped: Easton (13-7)

Others to watch: Palmerton (13-8), Panther Valley (15-5), Pleasant Valley (14-7), Pocono Mt. East (11-10).