Varsity Softball: Knights look to start state championship season with win against Oakdale

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

                       

The Middletown High School Knights Varsity Softball team has slowly been improving over the past two years, inching slowly towards their goal of a state championship.

In 2013, the Knights would make it all the way to the then regional semifinals before they fell to the Catoctin High School Cougars, with the Cougars using a home run in the bottom of the 7^th inning to tie it up before hitting a game-winning double in extra innings to win it. The regional semifinal round is now referred to as the sectional final round since sectional play was put into practice at the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

In 2014, the Knights would vanquish their demons from the previous year when they took on Catoctin High School again in the sectional final round of the playoffs. This time though the Knights would get a victory over the Cougars something that for so long had been out of reach for Middletown. They would advance on into the regional final were they would face the South Carroll High School Cavaliers in front of a home crowd but would end up falling by a score of 3-0.

Even though it was a sad loss for Middletown, they went to bed that night after falling to South Carroll knowing that they had a bright future ahead of them. The reason for that was out of the ten players on the team for Middletown last year, there was only one senior. The Knights come into this year with nine, count them nine, returning players including Middletown senior pitcher and infielder Sami Main who some have argued is the best player to ever come out of the Middletown softball program.

With this being taken into account the expectations are very high for Middletown and frankly the sky is the limit. A team with seven seniors is usually good regardless but what makes the Knights even more impressive is the talent that these seniors have displayed in past years and will no doubt display again this year.

Main needs no explanation, she’s just that good. She has shown an excellent ability to pound the zone with a fastball that can be described as electric and then make hitters break their necks on her off-speed pitches. Main, isn’t the only one who is a real talent for Middletown as seniors Taylor Green, Shannon Harman, Meghan Brown, Kaela Pratt, and Rachel Sigler all play a dynamic part for the Knights.

For the sake of the reader, their accolades and skills would make this article way too big for even our biggest fans but the Clif Notes version of how these seniors is worth pointing out.

Green is a defensive gem, playing an excellent first base and also contributing in the lineup with the timely placed hit and the speed to match.

Harman is the Knights big hitter, showing a mix of the ability to hit for power and the ability to hit for average while playing a solid outfield.

Brown is also a big hitter for the Knights although she seems to favor more towards balls that have been hit in the gaps then balls that are hit over the fence. Brown can also control the hot corner with ease for Middletown improving an already good infield.

Pratt is a force behind the dish for Middletown using her personal knowledge of her friend Main, translating that over into pitch selections which are usually right and forming one of the better duos in history. Seriously, Main and Pratt are up there with the likes of Bonnie and Clyde, Starsky and Hutch, PB and J, and snow days and large amounts of Netflix under the covers.

Pratt and Main have formed the bond after being a pitcher-catcher combo for four years at the Varsity level and to say that the results have paid off for the Knights is an understatement.

Last but not least for the Knights is Rachel Sigler who has filled an important role for Middletown as not only a utility player but as the back-up to Sami Main on the mound, providing the Knights with a potent 1-2 punch.

Middletown has the talent to go deep into the playoffs but for now the focus is on the regular season and their first opponent, the Oakdale High School Bears.

The Bears are not a traditional power in Frederick County or in Section I of the 2A West Region but this is March and in March softball crazy things tend to happen when you least expect them.

The Bears do have a couple weapons on their team with one being Oakdale senior McKenzie Grove who has shown an ability to take the ball the other way when she is at the plate. But, it will be a challenge for Oakdale as Main will be towing the mound for Middletown and when she is on the rubber it is usually smooth sailing for the Knights.

The Knights will look to get their season started against Oakdale in what they hope is the start of a state championship journey.