The Knoch Knights will venture away from home to square off against the Mars Fightin' Planets at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Knoch has 12 straight victories, Mars has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Knoch can't be too worried about heading out to take on Mars: they just beat Laurel at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Knights sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-7 win over the Spartans on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Knights have won by exactly two runs.
Kaila Purcell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Purcell was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Marlee Fraser
| 05/05/26 @ Laurel | 3 |
| 04/27/26 @ Highlands | 2 |
| 04/22/26 @ Greensburg Salem | 2 |
| 04/20/26 vs Highlands | 2 |
| 03/24/26 @ Valley | 2 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Marlee Fraser, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Lindsey Wise, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Knoch hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Mars came up short against Montour on Wednesday, falling 18-5.
Ella Funk and Alyson Mazurek did some serious damage despite the final result: Funk got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one run and one RBI, while Mazurek went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Knoch's record is now 15-2. As for Mars, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-13.
Mars' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Knoch has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Mars, though, as they've been averaging 13.4 hits. Given Knoch's sizable advantage in that area, the Fightin' Planets will need to find a way to close that gap.
Knoch got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in March of 2025 against Mars by a conclusive 11-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
