Knoch softball players move on
JEFFERSON TWP — When Chandler Krelow was a freshman, she wrote a paper about becoming a helicopter pilot in the Air Force.
“My mom was like, 'That's never going to happen,'” Krelow said.
While Krelow will probably not become a helicopter pilot, the Knoch senior swimmer and softball player will be headed for the Air Force this summer.
And she will be bringing her softball glove along with her.
Krelow, who has been a mainstay for the Knoch softball team since the middle of her freshman season, enlisted in the Air Force National Guard in November and will ship out for basic training in July.
“It's awesome,” said the senior first baseman. “It's cool to be a part of something so important.”
Krelow said she couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Krelow will go to boot camp for eight weeks and then will go to technical school to be an intelligence officer for 23 weeks.
She had to jump through a lot of hoops to get into the intelligence program.
“Per se, yes, kind of (be a spy),” Krelow said, smiling.
The commitment is six years and it will set her college back a year, but Krelow will still have an opportunity to play softball with the Air Force.
“They do a couple of different tournaments,” Krelow said. “It was cool because I was really worried I wasn't going to be able to further my (softball) career. I was offered a spot at Edinboro University, so I can continue playing there, too.”Knoch softball coach Tim Knappenberger said he knew Krelow was a special player, on and off the field, from day one.“She's a solid, line-drive hitter,” Knappenberger said. “She's very kind and courteous to everyone. She thinks of everyone else before herself and now she's going out to defend our country. That's a special person.”Krelow is hoping to extend her high school career.If Knoch beats Mars Monday, it clinches a spot in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. Should the Knights lose, they can still get in if Hampton beats Highlands Monday.Knoch, the defending Section 5-AAA champion, have lost all five of its section games by one run this season.“It's been hard,” Krelow said. “We get snippy and sassy with each other, but at the end of the day, we all come together. We're not a softball team. We're a family, through thick and thin.”Krelow isn't the only Knoch senior heading off to play softball at the next level.Hayle Fox will play next season at Butler County Community College.Abbie Thrower committed to Seton Hill in November.“Over the summer I was freaking out. I didn't know what I was going to do,” said Thrower, who has played three infield positions, pitched and played right field in four years as a starter for the Knights. “Then I went for a tryout at Seton Hill.”She received an offer and signed the following week.“I visited (Seton Hill) my junior year and loved the campus,” Thrower said. “I loved the boarding school look of it. I just really fell in love with it. Then I went to hang out with the team a little but and I felt like it was home.”Thrower has had many homes on the softball field.Her versatility is evidence of how talented she is, Knappenberger said.As a freshman, she played right field and then moved to second base, which Thrower said is her favorite position.As a sophomore, she filled a need at third base, then shifted back to second base last season before making another move to shortstop this season.“She can play any position,” Knappenberger said. “She can pitch and she can catch and she can play the outfield. She's that talented. She's just a natural at this game. She's obviously a very good hitter. She's game-savvy and she's been around it for her whole life.”Thrower isn't ready to throw in the towel on her senior season.She's not even ready to think about it, yet.“It's still weird thinking it's our senior year,” Thrower said. “I don't know what I'm going to do when it's over. They're my teammates and it's going to be weird not being with them every day. Yeah, I've been pushing it out of my mind.”
