Lady Knights carve through division, begin playoff quest
Robbinsville – Dating back to 1981, the Lady Knights have now finished atop the Smoky Mountain Conference standings a whopping 16 times – including laying claim to the last seven in a row.
Tuesday kicked off Robbinsville’s latest foray into the playoffs, with the 21-2 Knights enjoying the full benefits of a No. 4 seed by laying a merciful, 15-0 beatdown on the Corvian Community Lady Cardinals (No. 29 seed, 2-13).
It is a story we have seen play out time and time again: Robbinsville all but steamrolls the regular-season slate, delivers early-round knockouts in the playoffs and then finds itself back at what seems to be an insurmountable hump. Only once did the Lady Knights clear the hurdle: a visit to the 2019 Western Regional Final series was their award.
So, what makes this season any different?
Simple: the record-breaking dynasty that Robbinsville has slowly crafted is finally bearing fruit.
The right ingredients are suiting up in the 4-year cycle that is high school sports – and the Lady Knights intend on putting the pedal to the metal until a state ring is on each of their fingers.
“This could be the best team we’ve ever had here,” said head coach Billy Knight. “I just want us to go into the playoffs and play good, sound softball. I think if we do that, then we’ll have a great shot at winning a state title.”
Bolstered by a lineup full of big bats, Robbinsville outscored Murphy 23-8 in the final two games. May 1’s trek to Konehete Park was an 11-2 victory, which officially clinched the 2024 divisional pennant; Senior Night on May 2 resulted in a 12-6 win.
And thanks to the postseason bracket shaking out the way it did, the Knights will see the Bulldogs in the second round Friday.
Zoie Shuler was a double shy of the cycle at Murphy, ultimately crossing the plate four different times herself and driving in three. Pitcher Memory Frapp helped her own cause by delivering a 3-hit performance as well; upstarts like Ella McGuire doubled, while junior outfielder Claire Barlow committed four acts of thievery on the basepath.
All of that came in spite of 17 strikeouts issued by Murphy gunslinger Paisley Johnson.
It was more of the same when Senior Night rolled around: a mixture of youth and experience got the job done. Sydney Adams doubled on two different occasions May 2; Shuler again flirted with the cycle and she even swiped three bases, but a home run evaded her.
No matter, because Anna Williams took care of launching the long ball of the day for Robbinsville.
Frapp combined to strike out 15 Lady Bulldogs across the two-day tilt.
“This team has so many good things going for it,” Knight examined. “We have depth at pitching. We have hitting – and not just in (line-up spots) 1-9, but we have it with about 12 girls. We play about 15 girls a game, on average.
“We have a lot of pieces that we can utilize to win ball games. We can play small ball, but we can hit the long ball. We can beat you a lot of different ways. That’s what makes this team so dangerous.”
Bye bye birdies
It was apropos that as Sophie Roberts awaited the pitch that she sent over the outfield wall in the bottom of the first, a police siren could be heard passing close by Judy Nichols Memorial Field.
Moments later, Roberts hit her ninth home run of the year.
The launch was part of a 12-run segment for Robbinsville, which more than let the visitors know where they stood.
In the second, Dreylee Webster missed a home run by a millimeter, doubling in two more as part of the festivities.
Frapp (10-0) struck out five of the seven batters she faced; Naomi Taylor (9-1) struck out the side to definitively end the game early.
Just one hit squeaked through the infield for Corvian Community, as the first-year softball program showed why the 64-team playoff format is in much need of an overhaul.
Cardinals pitcher – and the only upperclassman on the team – Caitlin Langley was plagued by control issues from the word go. All told, she issued eight wild pitches; catcher Elle Chapman was assessed four passed balls.
When her final pitching line was turned in, Langley had given up 15 runs: only three were earned.
To watch Friday’s second-round playoff game between Robbinsville and Murphy, visit grahamstarsports.com. PPV passes are $6.99; a portion of the proceeds from each purchase will be donated back to the Lady Knights softball program.