Lady Knights enter postseason as No. 2 seed
Robbinsville – Five consecutive shutouts.
Sixty-nine unanswered runs.
Nineteen team home runs.
Those statistics read as video-game numbers, ones you can attain if you turn on every secret code available. Only, the numbers are all too real.
Needless to say, it's a bad time to have to face the Robbinsville Lady Knights.
Robbinsville (13-1) has been unhittable and unstoppable while compiling those numbers. In the process, the Lady Knights clinched their fourth-consecutive Smoky Mountain Conference championship with a 13-0 win over Hayesville (2-12) on April 29.
Robbinsville was awarded the No. 2 seed in the state 1A playoff bracket as a result.
"I believe that with all the hard work that the team put in during the offseason, the kind of production we've had was expected," said senior catcher Maggie Knight, a Chattanooga State-commit who leads Robbinsville with a healthy .643 average at the plate. "We had a lot of girls show up and get a lot better.
"I am very proud to be a part of such a talented team, and I know in my heart that we are capable of accomplishing big things."
Zoie Shuler hit a leadoff homer to begin the regular-season finale against the Lady Jackets. Gabby Hooper and Sydney Farley would later go yard in the game, with the latter recording three RBI in the game.
Hayesville only mustered two hits in the loss.
Another Memory made
And then there's Memory Frapp.
Robbinsville's freshman ace recorded her second career no-hitter April 28 against Rosman. She missed out on a perfect game by surrendering one walk. Along with the other half of the starting battery – Maggie Knight – she also hit her team-leading fifth homer in the game, which also gave head coach Billy Knight his 100th career victory.
"I figured if I did it once against Rosman, why not again?" Frapp said. "I really appreciate my team being behind me and boosting my confidence.
"I love my sister (Patience Frapp). She has really helped; always telling me I'm the best and I can do it, no matter what. But I still feel like I have a long way to go to be the best that I can be."
Frapp's first no-hitter this season also came against Rosman on April 20, which set off the chain reaction of scoreless games for the Lady Knights. She boasts an ERA of 1.62 and is 10-0 this year.
"Memory has come a long way from where she was at the beginning of the year," Maggie added. "She has developed mentally and physically, and is our ace right now.
“When she steps on the mound, I have full confidence that she will do whatever it takes to help this team win.”
The Lady Knights were set to host South Stokes in the first round of the postseason, but the matchup was postponed – due to heavy rainfall in the area – until after press time Wednesday.