The #12 Knoxville softball team never found their footing in the Class 4A Regional Semifinals against #13 Fairfield, falling 10-2 in a postseason game heard live on 95.3 KNIA Saturday.

The Trojans used speed and took advantage of two Panther errors to score five runs in the first inning. From there, Knoxville bounced back for a pair of runs with a tally each in the bottom of that frame and in the 2nd inning before both pitchers and the defenses behind them took over.

With two outs in the top of the 7th, a pair of close calls on an infield single for Fairfield turned into disaster for the home team, as what the Panthers’ believed to be out number three turned into a run, which ballooned into a five-score frame before Knoxville could mount their final comeback attempt.

Brittany Bacorn was 3-for-4 to lead the Panthers offense and Jadyn Streigle had a pair of hits in her final game for the black and gold. The rest of the Knoxville batters could not solve the Trojans’ ace Coty Engle, who struck out seven in seven innings.

Knoxville finishes the 2022 softball season with a 17-9 record and says farewell to two seniors.