2014
Columbia City Reds 16U (16-8)
The Columbia City Reds began their 4th season of baseball in 2014. The Reds 16U was a top-ranked team in the Mickey Mantle division of the Puget Sound Baseball League.
The 16U Reds tied for 3rd place in the 2014 state tournament.
In the fall of 2013, the Reds team began training at The K Center in Columbia City under coaches Young Cho and Travis Gass. Ron Queen, who has 30+ years of coaching experience, works with the pitchers and hitters in the off-season. All the pitchers learn how to locate the fastball, change-up, curveball and splitter – for strikes.
The inner city team includes scholar-athletes from north, central and south Seattle. The roster has some of the best high school players from Ballard, Bush, Franklin, Garfield, O'Dea, Roosevelt, Seattle Academy and University Prep. The core group of players were on the Senators All-stars team of the Seattle Pony League.
Columbia City Reds Baseball >>
Henry Knight throwing a bullpen with the Columbia City Reds
Switch pitching:
0.875 ERA as a switch pitcher.
Switch hitting:
Posted a .500 BA and .650 OBP during the regular season.
2013
Columbia City Reds 15U (14-15)
The Columbia City Reds team completed their second full season of baseball in 2013. The 15U team competed in the Ken Griffey division of the Puget Sound Baseball League.
In the off-season, the Reds trained twice-a-week at The K Center in Columbia City under coach Ron Queen. Several of the high school players also took hitting, fielding and pitching classes at the Washington Baseball School.
The Reds took second place in the CABA 15U Tournament hosted by the Dow Baseball Club at Hartman Park in Redmond. The pitching was dialed-in, as the Reds only allowed 7 earned runs in four games, with a 1.75 ERA as a team. The roster included the only switch pitcher in the northwest.
The Switch Pitcher
The Reds team features switch pitcher Henry Knight who is the only ambidextrous high school pitcher in the Pacific Northwest. Knight is a starting shortstop and closer for his high school team. To hone his pitching skills, he trained with Pete Wilkinson and Justin Gabriel (UW).
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| Switch pitcher Henry Knight - Columbia City Reds, Seattle |
Switch pitcher Henry Knight throwing a double bullpen at the K Center in Columbia City.
Quick Stats
Switch pitching:
1.26 ERA over 39 innings as a switch pitcher.
2-1 record, with 21 K / 5 BB.
Pitched 9 scoreless innings while throwing left- and right-handed in a tied game.
Switch hitting:
Chalked up a six-game hitting streak with a .632 BA and .767 OBP.
Knight finished the regular season with a .500 BA and .677 OBP,
while tallying 20 walks and 9 sac bunts over 27 games.
Season Highlight
In a 12 inning game, Henry Knight pitched 11 full innings as a switch pitcher, while averaging 11 pitches per inning.
Knight threw 87% first pitch strikes, while using the strategy of pitching to contact, in order to induce 9 ground outs and 20 fly outs. He chalked up 94 strikes in the game.
Max Malkin caught the entire 12-inning game – calling the pitches. Patrick Lin was solid in center field – running down a dozen fly balls.
Read more about the game
(Note: A regular high school game is only 7 innings and most pitchers in the league average 15 pitches per inning. In Washington, a high school age player is allowed to throw more than 10 innings in a day.)
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2012
Columbia City Reds 14U (22-9)
Henry Knight's summer team, the Columbia City Reds, competed in the Koufax State Tournament in July 2012, then advanced to play in the Regional Tournament. Knight was the starting shortstop and closer for the Reds, coached by Julian Almaraz and Ron Queen. He trains twice a week, with coach Ron Queen, to work on ambidextrous pitching and switch hitting.
Henry Knight's summer team, the Columbia City Reds, competed in the Koufax State Tournament in July 2012, then advanced to play in the Regional Tournament. Knight was the starting shortstop and closer for the Reds, coached by Julian Almaraz and Ron Queen. He trains twice a week, with coach Ron Queen, to work on ambidextrous pitching and switch hitting.
All of the players learn how to safely throw a fastball, changeup, splitter and curve ball. A group of players also learns the art of catching – receiving, blocking, throwing to bases and calling pitches.
The Columbia City Reds 14U team had a solid first year -- tying for 1st place in the Sandy Koufax League, tallying a 17-5 season record. The Reds train at The K Center in south Seattle and play their home games at the nearby Rainier Playfield. The open ballpark is one of the remaining natural grass fields in the area with a dirt infield - giving them a natural home field advantage.
In 2012, the Reds swept the Dow Memorial Day Tournament, in Redmond (home of Microsoft), where Knight pitched five innings to close out the championship game - winning 3-2 in ten innings. He averaged nine pitches per inning, due to very solid defense by the Reds.
As a switch hitter, Henry Knight batted .500 with a .622 OBP, to lead the Columbia City Reds.
Fall Ball
In the fall, Henry Knight focused on throwing left-handed during the instructional baseball season. In order to work on fielding, he played OF and 1B left-handed; plus catcher, 2B, 3B and SS right-handed. Over the season, he played all nine positions without making an error.
During the season, Knight normally swings left-handed facing right-handed pitchers -- about 90% of the time. He usually faces lefty pitchers as a right-handed batter, but doesn't get many at bats with this strategy. To maintain balance as a switch hitter, he spent more time batting right-handed, in the fall and regular season, to improve his swing. This approach came in handy during his sophomore year when he hit .448 right-handed, with a .525 OBP.
Bunting
Knight also worked on laying down the sac bunt, left- and right-handed, to advance the runner. In high school he chalked up 6 sac bunts, plus he bunted for hits twice to leadoff the inning and spark a scoring rally for the team.
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BHP = Both-Handed Pitcher (ambidextrous pitcher)
Columbia City, is a neighborhood in southeast Seattle
The K Center is an indoor baseball & softball training facility located in Columbia City – staffed by college coaches and former pro players
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