Former Staples standout back home following canceled season
Duke player, former Staples standout back in Westport following cancellation of season
It was 48 hours Chad Knight will never forget.
He and his Duke baseball teammates were on the losing end of a walk-off home run at Davidson College Tuesday, March 10.
On their way back to Durham, the team was notified that campus would remained closed after spring break and they would be completing their semesters online as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Most students would be getting sent home but spring athletes would stay on campus.
The next day, in the middle of practice back on the Duke campus, the team was pulled off the field and told they could no longer practice.
A few hours later, the NCAA announced the College World Series would not be played and the rest of the season was canceled.
“It was really sad and it didn’t even feel real when they were telling us,” Knight said. “It was the end of the most bizarre 48 hours I have ever experienced. We thought at the time they were overreacting. We didn’t understand the severity of this at first, but now it makes sense why they did what they did.”
Now, Knight, the former Staples High School standout, is back in Westport, isolating himself with his family in one of the towns hardest hit by the pandemic.
His days have gone from being filled with classes, practices, games and travel, to sitting at home taking classes online and finding places he can work on his game, by himself.
“I got home and sat on my couch. The first few days off were good, but then I knew I had to try and stay busy,” Knight said. “Our schedule in the spring, it is absurd how busy we are, so, stopping that and going to this was weird. The days are very monotonous without much to do. I have been hitting off a machine and trying to throw, but it is hard because you can’t get together with anyone.”
Knight, the 2019 GametimeCT Player of the Year, was 16 games into his freshmen season at Duke and was coming into his own when the virus hit.
Knight was catching in the bullpen and got a few pinch-hit opportunities over the Blue Devils’ first four games.
In a local twist, Knight’s first collegiate at bat came as a pinch-hitter facing Ben DeLaubell of Army.
DeLaubell, a Cheshire graduate, and Knight faced each other in the CIAC
Class LL tournament when they were both in high school.
DeLaubell and Cheshire won the 2018 Class LL title while Knight and Staples won it in 2019.
Knight swung at the first pitch and popped out against DeLaubell.
In the third game of the season, Knight connected for a long home run to left field as a pinch-hitter against Air Force.
“After that home run, things were just working,” Knight said. “Hitting in college is so much more challenging than hitting in high school. In high school I had to be very patient because a lot of teams tried to pitch around me. In college I was seeing more fastballs early in counts, so, I got more aggressive. I think I swung at the first nine pitches I saw in college.”
Three games after the Air Force game, Knight was inserted as the starting designated hitter, getting the nod in five of the next six games.
When the season was halted, he was batting .241 with a home run, triple and 3 RBIs.
With his first collegiate season ended, Knight is turning his attention to this summer. He was invited to play for the Cotuit Kettleers in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.
The Cape League is home to the best college players in the nation each summer and Knight being invited as a freshman is a big deal.
“Playing in the Cape is something every college baseball player dreams of,” Knight said. “To get this opportunity is really cool. I just hope we have a season. As of now, they are planning to play, but obviously everything right now is TBD.”
Things will come full circle for Knight on Cotuit.
One of the pitchers on the roster is Cal-Berkley junior Grant Holman.
In 2013, Holman played on the Chula Vista, Calif. Little League team, which eliminated Knight and Westport from the Little League World Series in the
U.S. Championship game.
“I was looking at the roster and a guy from the California team that beat us in the Little League World Series is on the team. Grant Holman, who plays at Cal now, was on the California team that beat us in the U.S Championship,” Knight said. “It would be a fun battery. I am looking forward to playing with him instead of against him.”
What Knight really hopes is he gets to play this summer at all.