Back in March, the 1999 girls' softball team began practicing for their upcoming season. The team came into this season with a large nucleus of seniors and great optimism for the season ahead. Whether it was bad weather, a poor game, or even a loss, nothing was going to slow this team down from reaching their goals. Their excellent play and their "never say never" attitude led to an amazing and unforgettable season.
On March 26th, Pen Argyl opened up its season versus Liberty. The Green Knights lost 9-3 and opened up their season with a loss. However, they rebounded to knock off Palisades. The Lady Knights dropped their next game but then they went on to win six straight games, giving them an overall record of 7-2 after nine games. Then inclement weather began to take its toll. In all, four games were postponed (including one of those twice). But once again a little drawback wasn't going to slow this team down. After a tough defeat to arch-rival Bangor and a one-run loss to Southern Lehigh, the Green Knights came together for their longest winning streak of the season, a stretch in which the team won seven straight games. During that stretch Pen Argyl outscored its opponents 59-12 and notched four shutouts, including three by Kim Overholt.
Pen Argyl was now in first place in the Colonial League Eastern Division and two games up on Bangor with two games to play. All Pen Argyl needed was one win in their last two games or one Bangor defeat in order to win their first ever Eastern Division title. Pen Argyl first played Salisbury at home on May 13. In the first meeting between the two teams, Pen Argyl rolled to a 7-0 win. However, they had to work hard in this one. Pen Argyl found themselves down in the bottom half of the seventh inning but they rallied to tie it up and send it to extra innings. Just as Pen Argyl got back in it, the game was over. Palmerton scored two runs in the extra frame while a stunned Green Knight team could not manage a single run. The final score was 7-5. It was truly a crushing defeat to the Green Knights. Meanwhile, Bangor won their game making the regular season finale between Pen Argyl and Bangor not just a rivalry game, but a game to determine the Colonial League Eastern Division champion.
Pen Argyl came into Bangor Park with a league record of 14-3, while the host Slaters were 13-4 in league play. In their first encounter of the season, Bangor took advantage of some Pen Argyl miscues for a 6-1 win. Since Bangor was one game behind the Green Knights and by virtue of Bangor's win in the first meeting, this was a winner-take-all game. This game was a classic. After seven innings of play, the score was tied 2-2. Then came the excitement and the eventual heartbreak. Pen Argyl opened up the eighth by scoring but Bangor came right back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Pen Argyl failed to score in the top of the ninth so the score remained 3-3, heading into the bottom of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Bangor scored to end the game and it left Pen Argyl heartbroken. The Lady Knights fell short of their first goal, a Colonial League regular season title. However, their 14-4 league mark was still good enough to qualify them for not only the Colonial League tournament, but also the District XI tournament.
Pen Argyl qualified for the Colonial League playoffs as the wild-card entry. They drew the Spartans of Southern Lehigh in the first round. Once again, Pen Argyl would be devastated. Yet another one run loss and Pen Argyl was eliminated after just one game. However, their season was not over yet. The Lady Knights were scheduled to open up their District XI play with a meeting at home versus the #5 seeded Blue Bombers of Palmerton. Pen Argyl defeated the Blue Bombers fairly handily after a sluggish start. Now it was on to Patriots Park for "round three"- another showdown with arch-rival Bangor. However, the outcome of this one would be slightly different. There was also a little more at stake this time around. The winner of this District semi-final game would not only advance to the championship game, but also earned the right to advance into the PIAA tournament. It was a close game throughout, with Pen Argyl capitalizing with some heads-up base-running on a couple of poor Bangor defensive plays. The final score was Pen Argyl 2, Bangor 1. For the Green Knights "3" was a charm and the victory placed Pen Argyl into the District championship game, as well as giving them a berth in the PIAA state playoffs.
The win against Bangor gave the Green Knights their first ever berth in the District XI championship game and an opportunity to win their first ever district crown. The only thing standing in their way was another upstart team in Bethlehem Catholic. They too were looking for their first ever District XI championship. This game was a difficult one for the Knights. Pen Argyl jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Golden Hawks answered with two runs in the bottom half to lead 2-1 after one inning. That would be all of the scoring in this one. Pen Argyl could only muster up one hit, a bunt single by Nicole Borger to start the game, and Pen Argyl's bats were silenced by the wonderful pitching of Bethlehem Catholic. Even though Pen Argyl lost, they had nothing to be ashamed of. Each member got a silver medal for their second place finish and they also have the distinct honor of being the first ever Green Knight softball team to advance to the state tournament. When asked about the season, Nicole Borger said, "It has been an awesome year and a year none of us will ever forget. It's also been a great honor and distinction to be the first softball team from Pen Argyl to advance to the state playoffs."
After their impressive district showing, Pen Argyl advanced to play Kutztown on June 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Lyons Park. It was a tough loss for Pen Argyl as the bats for Pen Argyl were silenced once again. Even though they lost 8-1, these young girls never gave up and kept trying until the very end. Perhaps Coach Bill Schankel summed it up the best at the end of the game. He said, "At the moment it does (take away from the season)- but when you think back tomorrow, I think they'll realize that they had an awful good season. You hope the kids learn this is fun, this is what it's all about, and that they make a commitment to wanting to get back here again." These girls have proven throughout the season that the key to winning is a lot of heart and determination. Congratulations Lady Knights, you truly deserve it!