Knoch baseball ready for its next test
JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch baseball coach George Bradley insists when he took over the program that it already had a solid foundation.
All he did was tinker with the curriculum.
The fifth-year Knights boss and retired Advance Placement Biology teacher tells people he's currently teaching AP Baseball.
Building a relationship with the Saxonburg Baseball Association helps make sure the players get the general concepts down.
“We wanted them to know how we throw the ball and expect to throw the ball at a high school level so they don't hurt their arms,” Bradley said. “How to hit line drives. Kids who hit fly balls in little league, everyone says good hit and it is, but when you get to high school, fly ball aren't good enough unless you hit it over the fence.”
With the community effort and talent on its roster, Knoch is ready to take on fifth-seeded West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class AAA title game at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Consol Energy Park in Washington.
The Indians (16-5) are the defending WPIAL champions and toppled top-seeded Chartiers Valley 4-3 to reach the finals.
The second-seeded Knights, who have equaled a school-best mark for wins with an 18-2 record, have spent the past two seasons knocking down barriers.
Knoch, which started its baseball program in 1990, won its first playoff game last season.
This season, the Knights won their first section title since 2000 and ripped off a 15-game winning streak to help capture the Section 5 title.
Senior shortstop Chris Law says despite the run of success, their work has focused on continuing to build on the foundation.
“We work on cuts all the time,” Law said. “When we do double-play drills, we make sure our flips are on point and everything. He stressed a lot on fundamentals and we were a lot on the basics.”
The Knights will need to continue to play mistake-free baseball.
Knoch survived close wins against Blackhawk (4-3) and Montour (2-0) to reach the finals.
In both games, the Knights used excellent defense and got superb pitching from Cole Shinsky and Alex Stobert to advance.
Law says its time for the offense to join the part.
“Really no,” said Law if low-scoring games were their style. “Dom Bucko, Cole Shinsky and I are the 1-2-3 (hitters in the lineup) and we haven't been hitting well in these playoff games. Other people in the lineup have been coming up big and we're hoping to pick up the pace.”
Bradley is proud of how his kids have handled the postseason pressures.
They are all shooting for an “A” every game in AP Baseball.
Knoch doesn't have many tests left.
“Our goal this year was to win the next game,” Bradley said. “That's it. That's all we can control. Sometimes it will happen, sometimes it won't.”
