Knight-mare for the opposition
JEFFERSON TWP — When Gary Coe took over as Knoch's varsity softball coach last off-season, he knew what he was inheriting.
The program went a combined 45-13 over the previous three seasons, yet graduated six seniors from last year. Coe's first team has only two seniors back from the previous season.
“I knew Tim (Knappenberger) was stepping down and they needed a coach,” Coe said. “I was a volunteer assistant last year, though I wasn't here all that much.
“I had been coaching travel ball and thought it would be fun to coach this group.”
Fun is what it has been.
And successful.
Since scoring six runs in the bottom of the seventh to stun Ambridge, 10-9, in their Section 3-4A opener, the Knights have reeled off nine straight section wins. They've outscored the opposition 92-6 during that stretch.
Overall, the team is 17-1 — the lone loss being a 2-0 defeat to Boyle County at a tournament in Kentucky — and recently wrapped up a perfect season in section play.
“That is a very polished group,” New Castle coach Laurie Lidak said of Knoch. “They're loose and they're playing with confidence.
“They're just strong everywhere you look.”
Indeed, Knoch's team batting average is .390. Erin Luffy, the team's first baseman and one of the two returning seniors, has a team-leading four home runs and is hitting .474.
Monica Gourley, the Knights' other returning senior and the starting shortstop, is hitting a team-leading .635 with 40 hits in 63 at bats.
Gourley is headed to Saint Vincent College, where she will join former Knoch teammate Celia Knappenberger and the Presidents' Athletic Conference champions.“We just go out and have fun. We tease each other all the time,” Gourley said. “Our coaches are laid back, so we're that way.”Luffy — headed to Merrywood College to continue her career — said the loose atmosphere has helped the team.“The coaches joke with us and we joke with them,” she said. “We knew a lot of the girls who were coming back. We knew the talent was here.”Coe knew what kind of talent he had early.“Once we started workouts and I saw these girls hitting the ball ... I knew we had a lot of hitters,” he said. “Everything else came together after that.“Chris (assistant coach Gardner) and myself aren't yellers and screamers. This is a game. Of course, we want to win, but this is supposed to have fun. And these kids are having fun.”The Knights have a third senior — exchange student Zoe Kylbergerova from the Czech Republic — on the team. She is hitless in four at-bats, but enjoys the camaraderie of the team as well.Knoch's pitchers have a team earned run average of 2.45, with 130 strikeouts and 25 walks in 111 innings. The bulk of that pitching success belongs to junior Amanda Fischer. She is 12-1 with a 1.60 ERA, 97 strikeouts and only eight walks in 70 innings pitched.“I care about throwing strikes more than strikeouts,” Fischer said. “I know we're going to field the ball. All I do is change speeds and keep the hitters off-balance.
“This year we have a different team, a different system. That happens anytime there's a new coach. Everyone just adapted. These coaches made that easy.”Fischer is hitting .302 on the season. Catcher Quinn Hughes is hitting .434, third baseman Bailey Brickenrode .439, right fielder Marissa Melius .440. Sophie Brandon, who hits lower in the lineup, is hitting .326.Brickenrode had the game-winning hit in the come-from-behind win over Ambridge. But winning hits have come from all over this lineup.“You never know who's gonna get the big hit from game to game with this group,” Coe said. “The girls even recognize that. They wonder who's going to step up and get the big hit from game to game.“They knew they're all capable of doing it.”Freshman Brynnae Coe plays center field and is hitting .296. She is the coach's daughter.And admitted to being self-conscious of that when she joined the team.“I knew I was the coach's kid and just felt like I bad to prove myself to the rest of the team,” Brynnae said. “That was all me. They never made me feel that way.“It didn't take me long to realize I was just another player on the team.”That's because she was subject to the teasing, like everyone else.“We probably picked on her a little more,” Luffy said, laughing. “We keep calling her 'Freshman.' But she can play. We knew that.”All of these Knights can play.“We're a close-knit bunch,” Gourley said. “We appreciate each other. We play for each other.”So far, that's been bad news for the opposition.
