One of the worst starts in Southern Lehigh has turned into a satisfying second half for legendary coach Brian Neefe.
Not only did Neefe get his 700th career victory with a win over Notre Dame on April 30, but his team has kept alive his streak — now 42 seasons— of never failing to reach the District 11 tournament.
There were moments earlier in this season when Neefe doubted his team could qualify for the postseason. After a few brutal losses, the usually talkative coach seemed at a loss for words.
"It wasn't the losing that bothered me, or even the lopsided scores. … it was the lack of passion they were showing," Neefe said. "It was a matter of them having the desire to be successful and not accepting failure. But we've turned it around."
The team's 7-1 tournaround has been startling, and while it was not fast enough to get the Spartans into the league tournament where they could have defended their Colonial title, it does give them a chance at district gold.
"I was listening to the radio while driving back from Philadelphia last week and heard someone talk about the difference between what you feel and what you believe," Neefe said. "It reminded me of this team. In the first half of the season, I think our kids were depressed and down and a lot of people stay in that state.
"But I think a lot of them started to realize that it's not how you feel, it's what you believe and a lot of them began to believe that hard work could turn it around. Early in the season, I wondered if it bothered them if we lost. I know it bothered me, but I didn't know about them."
Neefe said he saw a difference on April 28, the night of the "Play Day" at Pates Park when his team dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Wilson, a loss that initially denied Neefe his 700th win. The loss unfolded before many of Neefe's family and friends.
"The best thing I saw after that game were tears on the faces of some of the kids," Neefe said. "That told me they're tired of losing and they're determined to turn this thing around. That was the only game we've lost in the last three weeks and we shouldn't have lost that one."
With everyone but senior pitcher Katie Tankred back, the future bodes well for Southern Lehigh.
As for the present, the Spartans could be dangerous in the 3A field.
"We'll have a couple of weeks to get ready for districts and we'll be the best 10-10 team you'll ever want to play," Neefe vowed. "It'll be good competition."
PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
The teams are all set and so are most of the matchups when it comes to next week's league tournaments.
In the LVC, Liberty, Emmaus and Parkland have won division titles and Bethlehem Catholic is the wild-card team. If Liberty beats Easton today, it would be the top seed and play Becahi in Monday's semis at Pates Park. If Liberty loses, Parkland would get the top seed.
In the Colonial League, the semis are set with No. 1 seed Pen Argyl playing No. 4 Northwestern at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Pates Park after Saucon Valley and Palmerton meet in the 5 p.m. opener.
The LVC and Colonial League titles will be determined in a doubleheader on Thursday night starting with the Colonial game at 5 p.m.
In the MVC the semis are set for Wednesday with No. 4 Lehighton likely playing at No. 4 Pleasant Valley and No. 2 Stroudsburg hosting No. 3 Pocono Mountain East. The title game will be played Friday at a neutral site.
KUDOS TO CATTY
Catasauqua, which began the season at 2-6, was on a four-game winning streak entering play on Thursday, a push that has qualified the Roughies for the District 11 2A tournament.
