From Knight-mare to dream season

After hearing the news her daughter had been involved in a serious car accident, Ann Marie Kringer rushed to the hospital.

While there, the concerned mother eventually learned her 16-year old child had suffered three fractures in her pelvis and had also injured her lower back.

With many emotions running through her body, Kringer was unsure what her little girl would say to her when they finally met face-to-face.

As it turns out, those who know Kayla Knight might have been able to predict those first words "Will I ever play softball again?"

Following rehabilitation and a transfer to Marian High School, the resident of Hazleton did return to the diamond. Just five months after the crash and still feeling its affects, Knight became a vital member of the Fillies squad.

This past season, during her senior year, Knight became more than just a vital member. Besides improving her numbers in the circle and at the plate, Marian's top pitcher also carried her team to a division title and a trip to the district semifinals.

Thanks to that performance, she was named the TIMES NEWS Softball Player of the Year.

"The accident made me stronger," said Knight, who went 12-4 with a 1.67 ERA. "After an experience like that, it makes you want to prove to everybody that I wasn't done and I could still go out and accomplish things.

"I was scared when I couldn't feel from my waist down. I asked will I ever play softball again and my mom said yeah. I told her I was taking her word for it, so I better be able to play."

Knight's mom honestly admits now that she had no idea if her daughter would be able to play again, but knew that's what she had to say.

She probably also didn't know how successful Kayla would be once she did return.

"After the accident I was doing rehab for three months four days a week," said Knight, who was a passenger in the car that fateful day of Oct. 30, 2009. "Eventually I worked on my arm and worked on getting my legs stronger.

"The first time I pitched after the accident my ball was everywhere. It wasn't consistent and my hips hurt so much. I had to tolerate it though. This is the sport I love. I didn't want to stop."

Knight ended up having a solid junior year, posting a record of 8-4. In 75 innings she registered an ERA of 2.23 and struck out 83 batters while walking 20. At the plate, she hit .298 and knocked in seven runs.

"I was unaware of the accident when she came to Marian," said Fillies head coach Joe DeAngelo. "We took a cautious approach to what we asked her to do her junior year. Despite that, she still had a very productive year.

"I figured that pitching-wise she would continue her progression but hitting-wise her health improvement really was noticeable. When I saw her swing I could see the difference."

They were noticeable to her opponents, too.

Besides the 12-4 mark this year, Knight's numbers included 96 innings and a WHIP (walks plus innings divided by IP) of 0.97. She walked just 17 batters and struck out 90. Opponents hit just .206 off her and she allowed only 11 extra-base hits. She threw a perfect game against Lourdes and a no-hitter versus MMI, finishing with seven shutouts and 12 complete games.

With a bat in her hands, she hit .375 (24-for-64) with nine doubles, a triple, 13 runs scored and nine RBIs.

"This year I felt pretty good," said Knight, who plans to attend Lehigh Carbon Community College for nursing. "I hit the ball hard and had a lot of rotation in my hips. It felt good. It felt like I was back where I was before the accident.

"The highlight of the season was probably beating Williams Valley (1-0 on Apr. 18). It also felt amazing winning the division."

While winning and impressive numbers are what most people focus on when talking about a player's worth, her head coach described his top player a different way.

"Some of Kayla's biggest assets are her work ethic, her consistency and her composure," said DeAngelo. "Skill-wise she had great command and great movement on her pitches. But those other attributes are what gave us the confidence that we would have an opportunity to be successful."

Knight, who came to Marian because her family felt like she wasn't getting the proper assistance academically from Hazleton during her rehab, isn't sure what her future will bring. She'll play summer ball for the Pennsylvania Alley Cats but doesn't know if she'll play in college.

One thing she is sure about is the experience she had in Hometown.

"I'm happy I made the switch to Marian," said Knight. "I know it was the best thing. We had a good group of people and I love the coaches. Coach DeAngelo helped boost my confidence. I really needed that."