Knoch softball team prepares for huge section showdown

By: Michael Love
Thursday, April 25, 2024 | 9:11 PM

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When Knoch softball coach Chris Gardner was asked in a preseason questionnaire what his expectations were for this season, his response was simple and to the point.

“Win the section,” he said.

A month and a half after that direct appraisal, Gardner’s Knights are on the cusp of an attempt to make that goal a reality.

Knoch will play Woodland Hills in a Section 1-4A matchup Friday at All-American Park in Trafford. Taking care of business there sets up a monster rematch with Indiana on Monday afternoon at Laura J. Doerr Memorial Park in Cabot.

The Knights (10-3, 7-1) would be going for at least a share of the section title or the outright crown if Highlands is able to upset Indiana on Friday.

Indiana (10-3, 8-0) won the first meeting with Knoch, 2-0, on April 15.

“The girls have taken care of business the past week or so with (five straight wins), and our bats will definitely need to come alive Monday,” Gardner said.

“The last time we played Indiana, we had more errors than hits. We had just two hits, and we had three errors. We didn’t hit the ball. (Senior Olivia) Zimmerman is a great pitcher for them. (Sophomore) Marlee Fraser is a great pitcher for us.

“It’s going to be another great battle. It could be another 1-0, 2-0 game. They know what they’re up against. They know what this means.”

Zimmerman, in addition to giving up just two hits, struck out eight and walked none.

Fraser, in the first game against Indiana, surrendered six hits and two walks and struck out five. Both Indiana runs were unearned.

“A big key for us this year has been our pitching with Marlee, and we also mix in (freshman) Kaila Purcell,” Gardner said.

“Marlee, counting our Myrtle Beach trip, has 107 strikeouts in 11 games and only 73 innings. Kaila has thrown five games for us, and she has 34 strikeouts. And we are not walking batters. We looked at some stats, and last year, up to this point, we had given up 52 walks. Marlee has walked only 14, and Kaila has only walked six. We’re keeping opposing hitters off the bases. Our unearned runs are way down, and our errors are down. We’re playing solid softball.”

Knoch rolled past Highlands, 11-1, on Wednesday, but won a close 3-2 decision over third-place West Mifflin on Monday.

Junior Grace Hensch collected two hits and drove in a run. Fraser and freshman McKenna Brailey each tallied a hit and a run driven in.

Fraser struck out nine in the complete-game victory.

“We felt the score should not have been that close, but it was. We left 11 runners on base,” Gardner said.

“Their pitcher threw only 50 percent strikes and walked eight batters. We didn’t get a timely hit the way we are accustomed to doing, and we had some baserunning blunders which took us out of some scoring opportunities and a couple of big innings.”

With four seniors and six starters back, senior co-captain and right fielder Brynne Smith felt before the season that the team had the pieces in place to make a run to a section title.

“This team came into the season with a strong work ethic and a winning attitude,” Smith said. “Our confidence right now is really high. We still have more work to do. We’re not satisfied with where we are. We can get better in some areas.”

Smith and fellow senior Sylvia Luffy lead the team in batting average.

“These girls all play rec ball together and travel ball on top of that, so the newcomers to the lineup were not unsure of themselves at the start of the season,” Gardner said.

“They came right in and showed that they belonged in the lineup.”

The Knights opened with an 11-6 loss to Hampton before a trip south to the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach. They came back and suffered a 10-0 setback to Class 5A power Armstrong.

But an 11-6 win over Mars and a 3-0 triumph against Kiski Area primed Knoch for its journey in section play.

“That is our schedule every year,” Gardner said. “We start out with 5A or 6A teams, and we sometimes struggle right off the bat. We might hang with those teams for four or five innings, and then the wheels fall off a little bit. Last year, we started 0-5. This year we only lost two, but those games are always good tests and good learning experiences for the girls. The girls like to challenge themselves.”

The regular season has rolled along to the point where it already is less than a week away from the WPIAL releasing the playoff brackets. Knoch’s playoff clinching extends a current streak which began in the 2014 season. The 2019 team made it to the WPIAL semifinals and won a third-place consolation game to clinch a spot in the PIAA tournament.

“Once the weather breaks, and you get your games in, the season starts to go by so quickly,” Gardner said. “Before you know it, the section is over and you start thinking about the playoffs.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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