BUTLER TWP — Chelsea Martin never saw it coming.

The Knoch softball pitcher heard the crunch when the ball, lined sharply off an Ellwood City hitter's bat, smashed against her pitching hand April 19.

She felt the throbbing pain.

But she never saw the softball zooming at her like a missile from less than 40 feet away.

"There was nothing I could do about it," Martin said.

Now, she's a reluctant spectator.

She helps her teammates however she can, lending cheers and moral support from the bench, even though she longs to be back out on the field with them.

"I'm almost depressed about this," Martin said, her voice cracking at the thought of missing the remainder of the season. "It's hard to cope with. I want to play. I want to hit the ball. I can't even throw the ball."

Martin was scheduled to undergo surgery Monday to place pins in the break to stabilize it.

Pins are required because her pinkie finger is twisted from the impact and won't heal properly without surgery.

Martin expects a full recovery, but she won't be back on the field this season, no matter how far Knoch, which is 13-3, advances in the playoffs.

That pains her even more.

"I wish I could come back this season," Martin said. "I'll really miss this team.We have six seniors graduating. I don't like the fact that was my last game with them."

Martin also doesn't like the fact she is just one more statistic in a growing trend of pitchers getting injured while in the circle.

This season alone, more than a handful of softball hurlers in the area have been hurt when they were unable to get out of the way of line drives hit back at them.

That has spurred another groundswell of support for moving the pitching rubber back from 40 feet to 43 feet.

Martin said she believes her injury could have been prevented if she were 3 feet farther away from the plate.

"I think I would have been able to move out of the way," Martin said. "I don't think I would have been able to make a play on it, but I might have been able to see it and avoid it."

Knoch coach Scott Docherty has long supported moving the rubber back 3 feet. The injury to Martin simply solidified his stance.

"It was heading right for her heart," Docherty said. "It could have killed her. How long are we going to put our children in danger before something is done?"

Martin, though, believes moving the distance back 3 feet is only half the battle.

As a potent hitter as well,Martin is aware of how technologically advanced the bats have become.

"They need to do something with the ball and the bats," Martin said. "Half of these bats should be illegal. They are ridiculous."

Martin realizes that when she returns to the circle next season, she will have many obstacles to overcome.

Her biggest one could be mental.

Several pitchers have begun wearing protective masks, which look like a mix between a football helmet face mask and orthodontic headgear on steroids.

Martin is considering wearing one next season, but a face shield wouldn't have prevented her injury.

So, she will cope with it the best she can, even though it has affected her life beyond the softball field.

"I'm a righty," Martin said. "I can't write at school. I'm making a clay mug in art class, and I can't even do that. It's ruined a lot of stuff."