BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
Troy’s Erinn Knapp has had a busy off-season in the circle, and it’s showed on the college ranking boards.
Playing for the Impact Caymol Top Flight Owl City Elite 30 at a tournament in Georgia Knapp tossed 15-innings as the team went 7-0 to win the tournament title.
During those 15 innings she struck out 18 while giving up 10 hits and two earned runs.
“Winning the title in Georgia was like a dream,” Knapp said. “My teammates and I have worked so hard for each other, and it’s amazing how it’s all coming together, and showing up when we need it the most.”
Knapp got the ball for the title game, going all six innings for the 4-1 win over the Eastern Gold 18u. She struck out five while allowing three hits and one run.
Eastern Gold was 20-0 before that game, and Knapp’s team won $10,000 for winning the tournament.
“Pitching in this title game was a challenge I was ready to accept,” Knapp remarked. “The adrenaline throughout the game, start to end, was absolutely incredible, and it made me focus on what I was doing, and how it needed to be done, so I delivered.”
After the victory Knapp was ranked the number-1 pitcher in the Northeast Region of the US for the 2028 class by Extra Innings Sports. She’s ranked number-8 overall in the country.
“See that I was ranked the number-1 2028 pitcher in the Northeast, and the number-8 2028 pitcher in the nation was amazing to see,” Knapp said. “But I know my work isn’t done yet because there is still so much to work on in the process of improving my skills.”
She’s also looking forward to her sophomore season for the Trojans this coming spring.
“I’m pretty excited for this upcoming season because I get to play with my friends, and be able to put all my off-season work in,” Knapp said.
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PHOTO PROVIDED
