It's the little things, a column on last season's Knights

The 2022 softball season didn't end the way Franklin wanted. The team nor the community.

​Let's focus on the positives.

​This is a really good softball team with: a pitcher on the precipice of being one of the best; a solid interior that can field nearly any ball, assess the situation in the blink of an eye and, most of the time, make good throws; a strong first four batters; pretty good middle of the line up hitters and a tail that has started it's fair share of rallies all season; they are scrappy and support each other; they don't seem to get down for too long before they pull themselves together; they seem to love the game of softball;  and....  these are good kids.

And they are young which means most of the team will be back next season

Only one senior, Brandy Atwell who played a very solid second base and batted over .500 is their only senior.  And though head coach Chad Hoobler said she will be very hard to replace, he is returning eight starters hopefully and six of them now have two years of state playoff experience. "I have a great nucleus, They have each other's back 24/7," Hoobler said during an interview at the end of last season. "At the beginning of the season (2022) we talked about being more than a team, we want to be family. And that is what we are."

Hoobler said losing Atwell, his team's captain, created a difficult hole to fill. "She's a coaches dream. In the dugout she was always that calm voice, that steady influence to tell the girls 'we got this.' She's my rock." He also credited her with her leadership in work ethic. "She worked and worked and worked on her craft," he said.

But he has three seniors, including his daughter Sydni, his speedy lead-off hitting shortstop, returning in leadership roles.

He also has returning catcher Kirsten Hicks, who all season long had the ability to call key timeouts to have a few words with her pitcher when it might be needed. Hoobler said Trinity Edge is a great pitcher who plays at a high level of intensity and Hicks, now a junior, seems to know when get her pitcher to take a breath.

​"I don't know how to put into words how proud I am of her," said Hoobler, a former catcher himself, of Hicks.

​"A coach only has two timeouts before he has to change his pitcher," Hoobler emphasized how much he relies on Hicks. "Catching is a tough position, she gets beat up back there but she is not afraid. She is my warrior back there."

A lot has been discussed about Trinity Edge. She is a district all-star level pitcher and nearly .600 hitter. Her ability to shut down teams has been nothing short of amazing. Even in recent loses it was uncharacteristic fielding errors and not Edge giving up easy balls to drive.

​That's not to put blame on anyone else, part of the game is being able to field the ball cleanly and throw accurately. Edge's pitching often would put the ball in play to be fielded. Hoobler said that sometimes the breaks just didn't go their way.

Sydni Hoobler is one of the best lead off batters and leads the state in stolen bases.
Her play at shortstop is solid and she is definitely the infield general who often visits the pitcher herself to help Edge stay focussed.

At the end of the year, after they were eliminated in the state playoffs Hoobler asked an important  question.  ' Did you give everything you had?'" They all answered "yes." said  Hoobler

"That's all I can ask for."

As this year gets underway the expectation is high for this seasoned squad who hopes to make a solid season and playoff run.

Editor's note: This story was meant to run last Spring, but it got buried. Instead of ditching it we decided to run it now before our first game story of this season.