Varsity Baseball: After tragedy Knights find motivation to push forward

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

                       

Motivation is something that all sports teams need to succeed. There are various sources that motivation comes from but it can be used as one of the most successful tools to help teams to win games in all of sports. Once players get a little bit of fire under their belly and the adrenaline starts pumping there is no telling what the player who is motivated can do.

How to get players motivated is a different story. Some players are natural gamers who can get pumped up for any game, even a scrimmage. For some, there have to be individual benefits.

In the case of the Middletown High School Knights Varsity Baseball team they have a type of motivation that is unique to them and the school they represent.

They have motivation to win to honor their friend. Claire Savon Knight was best friends with a large number of people in the senior class and especially friends with multiple players on the baseball team.

When, her life was tragically taken in a car accident of February 11^th, there was a sense of profound sadness in the community. It would have been unusual if there wasn’t.

But, there was also a different sense that would slowly develop days after the accident. It was a sense of resiliency, a sense of determination. Yes, something tragic had happened and yes there would be a large hole in the heart of many people in the community, but as a whole the Middletown and Myersville communities showed determination to remember the life of a friend in a positive manner.

As baseball season inched closer, Claire’s friends on the baseball team decided the best way to honor her memory was to do what she loved seeing the Knights do; win and win big.

And they were going to do it in her memory.

So on February 28^th, the Knights just like every other sports team at Middletown High School, started a journey not just to win a state championship but to win a state championship to honor Claire’s memory with the support of the Knight family and the community right behind them.

If the Knights even needed more motivation going into a season in which they felt confident, because in the player’s eyes they are a good baseball team, they’ve gotten it and it has created a team that can only be described as “hungry”.

 “A couple of us were really close with Claire, and it would be amazing to have a successful season with her in mind,” said Knights senior pitcher and outfielder Matt Lynch. “I know a couple guys who are playing for her especially and that will definitely lift the team. Claire supported everyone so it’s only fair to honor her with a great season.”

Now for a team that lost 4 Opening Day starters from last year and 2 of the 3 starting pitchers from last year’s rotation, you would not expect them to be the most confident bunch with multiple players having to step into starting spots this year when they hadn’t played a large amount last year.

But, as we’ve stated this Knights team is not the normal team and this is not the normal situation for a team to be in heading into the season. Just from being at practices one can sense willingness from the Knights to work hard and push for success, along with a complimentary sense that if they work hard they can go far this season.

“We lost four starters off a great team, and they will definitely be missed,” said Lynch the quirky submarine pitcher who is a recent Frederick Community College commit. “This has opened up spots for other people to step up and I think the singular focus for everyone this off season was to get better.”

It could lead people to question whether the Knights aren’t so much exhibiting confidence as they are cockiness but members of the team are quick to dismiss claims of cockiness from the outside as incorrect.

“It’s not cockiness, our senior class has always been talented, now it’s time to prove it,” said Lynch, who will be part of a Knights pitching staff that has been one of the main reasons for the Knights success in past years.

The pitching staff will hold on the legacy of being one of the county’s toughest with multiple pitchers offering Middletown head coach Andy Baker a cornucopia of options for him to use during the regular season.

There is senior Colson Kirchner who has been scouted by Division I baseball teams. There is Jake Paulishak, the green-horn sophomore who has impressed in practice sessions with deceptive breaking pitches. There is senior Danny Finn, who moved to Maryland from New Mexico three years ago and has become a vital factor on the mound for Middletown. There are others too such as seniors Ryan Bartoli, Kevin Gibson, and the aforementioned Lynch.

When asked about the talent in the pitching staff, Lynch was rather succinct.

“There is no better feeling (for us) than knowing (we) can help a team win,” said Lynch. “Everyone has to work as a whole to have success, but having the chance to add to that success is a great opportunity.”

Adding to the positives heading into this season for the Knights is the bond that has formed because of the events of the last month. The seniors on the team had been close before through this but through tragedy the bonds have been strengthened to a degree unfathomable.

“There is nothing better than a team that acts as a family. When you treat your team as a family and everyone comes together as one it goes a long way,” said Lynch. “Everyone enjoys where we’re at right now, everyone’s excited to get this season going.”

With a family bond, a tough pitching staff, and a lot of motivation the Knights will look to turn their season into a winning tribute to a dear friend.