News

Jun 09, 2023

Knutson starts for Sauk Rapids varsity team as seventh grader

In their first year eligible to play school sports, most seventh graders expect to play with other athletes their age, maybe play up a level or two. Sauk Rapids-Rice's 14-year-old pitcher Ava Knutson

In their first year eligible to play school sports, most seventh graders expect to play with other athletes their age, maybe play up a level or two.

Sauk Rapids-Rice's 14-year-old pitcher Ava Knutson has led the Storm (8-12) to a two-seed and a first-round bye in this season’s Section 8-3A softball tournament.

“I was thinking that I was going to play in seventh grade, but I liked it a lot. I like playing with older girls,” Knutson said, adding “it’s more competitive.”

Sauk Rapids manager Emily McEwan said when she invited Knutson to tryouts last fall, she know the-then 13-year-old would be there to compete for a roster spot.

“Ava Knutson, she is just killer. I just love her,” she said.

Knutson has started all but one of the Storm’s games this season, amassing a 7-11 record. She’s thrown 114.1 innings and pitched in every game, including both games of eight doubleheaders. Sauk Rapids’ pitcher with the next-most innings has thrown 6.2.

The right-hander has a 4.286 ERA this season, allowing 1.732 baserunners per inning.

The statistics aren’t flashy, but Knutson plays girls sometimes four years older than her and in a really competitive Central Lakes Conference. Many of the Storm’s opponents have been Class 4A, too.

McEwan said she has been impressed by Knutson’s ability to find success against challenges. She said she knew putting Knutson on junior varsity “would have been a disservice.” Now, McEwan said she has seen her “blowing past” some of the best hitters in the CLC.

“The challenge just fuels her versus making her crumble,” McEwan said.

Sometimes deep into those doubleheaders, McEwan swears Knutson gets stronger in the circle.

Knutson tries to pay attention to the execution of the game more than the result.

“The team gets along really well and we all have confidence that we play well, even though we lose,” she said.

Emotions ran high during the first game of the year. The game ended 11-0 in favor of a very strong Sartell Sabre (14-6) team after six innings.

“The fact that she stayed, that she fought through them through the season – I just can't wait to see what she can do with the six years,” McEwan said. “But our team is amazing. Our corner infielders are eighth graders. Riley (Turck) and Taylor (Lamoureux), and it doesn’t matter that we have seventh graders or seniors or anywhere in between, they are like a unit.”

McEwan said, “all they do is support one another.” The team has nicknamed the younger girls “littles.” But the middle schoolers do more than fill a position, Turck and Lamoureux hit in the heart of the Storm’s lineup.

“Our littles are on the field and they show up big for us, which is really cool,” the manager said.

Storm senior captain Kendal Craft, who plays outfield, said she wasn’t sure how to approach the younger girls to start the year or how the middle schoolers would fit into the fabric of the dugout.

“Then, the first game I saw Riley (Turck) hit a triple and Ava (Knutson) having, in our first game, 16 strikeouts, I was like, ‘she belongs here for sure,’” Craft said.

Plus, they were too nice in practice not to like, she said.

“They’re just amazing,” Craft said. “Being that young and playing as good as they are at 13 and 14 years old is insane. It’s something that I’m very proud to say that they’re on my team.”

Knutson said she hasn’t been treated any differently by her teammates.

This season the St. Cloud Crush (14-6) have also relied heavily on a seventh grade pitcher: Lainey Sheetz has thrown 29.1 innings, the second most on the team. Sheetz has started six games, compiling a 4-1 record. She’s also played well at the plate when she’s had opportunities, knocking five singles in 10 at-bats.

Sheetz and Knutson actually faced off in the second game of a doubleheader May 11 from opposite dugouts at the St. Cloud Tech High School softball field. The Crush won the game 7-2 behind Sheetz’s 4 inning-start.

“Not too many times you have two seventh graders start a 4A softball game,” Crush coach Mike Trewick said after the game, calling Knutson “a great pitcher.”

Trewick said he has worked with Knutson during the summer before, and that she and Sheetz had terrorized opposing lineups from the same traveling team.

“They’re both super great kids and they work really hard at softball,” he said.

Knutson plans to play for the Waite Park 14U team this summer, she said.

St. Cloud is the sixth seed in the Section 8-4A tournament and played Tuesday at Rogers (15-4). The Crush lost their regular season matchup with the Royals 7-1 on May 1 at home.

With a bye to the section semifinal, Sauk Rapids will play the winner of Little Falls (5-14) and Detroit Lakes (3-6) at 4 p.m. on May 25 at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. The Storm played both teams in succession May 19 to end the regular season, beating the Flyers 6-3 and the Lakers 8-4.