With only one senior, the Knights were supposed to be using the 2008 season to build toward 2009.
"People kept saying, 'Wait until next year,' but I said, 'What about this year? I don't want to forget about this year,"' Mater Dei coach Deb Foote said.
The Knights have matured more quickly than expected as they have a 16-6 record and they're hoping to make a run next week at their first regional title since 2002.
"It just kind of all fell together," Foote said. "I think a lot of times chemistry helps, and they have really good chemistry. Honestly, the whole season I haven't experienced any little tiffs or anything like that."
Catcher Amanda Rakers is the lone senior for the Knights.
"We look at her for support, and we look at her for what we need to do on the field," sophomore pitcher Heather Deering said of Rakers. "She keeps us together."
Rakers, who will play softball for Illinois College next season, said she gets plenty of help providing leadership from the team's eight juniors.
"I'm not alone," Rakers said. "There are plenty of girls to help out whenever anything needs to be done."
There are some perks that come with seniority as Rakers' final day of school was a half day Wednesday morning.
"I walked in for practice and they were all like, 'What's it like getting out early?' I was like, 'It was nice. I went up to Wally's up town. It was a pretty nice lunch compared to school lunch,"' Rakers said.
The Knights had a 6-19 record last year as they took their lumps with a lineup filled with sophomores.
"When you start that many sophomores who are facing varsity pitching for the first time, you just try to get through the season," Foote said.
Deering is the ace of the Knights' pitching staff. She has a 9-3 record with an 0.30 ERA.
Deering is a power pitcher as evidenced by her 131 strikeouts in 86 innings, but Foote said she has learned how to mix up her pitches to keep hitters off balance.
"Last year, she threw mostly just hard," Foote said. "Now she has more pitches. She has a curve and a drop and she's working on a rise. She still throws hard, but she can mix it up more, and that makes her more effective against the better hitters."
Foote said there's a definite advantage to having a pitcher who is averaging 10.7 strikeouts per game.
"In the Marissa Tournament, in the two games she pitched, she had 15 strikeouts," Foote said. "That gets you down to only a few outs that you have to field. It means you have less of a chance to make mistakes. It's nice having a pitcher who can do that."
The Knights also have two junior pitchers in Emily Maue (5-1, 3.37 ERA) and Alyson Winkeler (2-1, 2.67 ERA).
The Knights struggled producing runs last season. They were shut out 11 times, and they scored one or fewer runs in 18 of their games.
"We just didn't score many runs last year," Foote said. "If we got three runs down, we were doomed."
The Knights have been shut out only three times this season. They've scored three or more runs in 16 games.
Freshman Alexa Becker is the Knights' top hitter with a .431 batting average. Becker bats third and anchors the infield from her spot at shortstop.
"Do you think I can put her under any more stressful situations?" Foote said. "She has handled it pretty good, though. She has done a great job. She's not your typical freshman. She can hit for power, she can do it all. She has had two home runs and some doubles and triples.
"She has game sense. She really knows defensively and offensively what to do."
Junior third baseman Catherine Gebke is hitting .328 in her first season on the varsity.
"She didn't play any varsity at all last year," Foote said. "She has lot of power. She is very strong. When she makes contact, it's going to go for a ride."
Junior first baseman Alex Haas also packs some punch for the Knights. She's hitting .250 with a team-high 16 RBIs.
"She's able to put the ball over the fence, and she has come through with a lot of RBIs for us," Foote said of Haas. "She can be somewhat of a clutch hitter. She has done a much better job this year than last year. I think last year she did too much thinking.
"We're trying to get her to relax because when she relaxes in there she does a good job."
The Knights realized that they were capable of competing with the top teams in the area after a doubleheader against Belleville East on April 9.
The Knights stood toe-to-toe with the Lancers and pitcher Autumn Allen for 10 innings before falling 1-0 in the first game and then pulled out a 7-6 win in the second game.
"That was huge," Rakers said. "When we hung with them through the whole first game, that kind of opened some doors with our perspective. We realized we could compete with anybody."
The Knights are seeded third in the Class 3A Marion Regional. They'll open postseason play against second-seeded Mount Vernon at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
"I think there are some good teams in our regional, but I'm pretty optimistic," Foote said. "I know we have to go play good games, but I think if we play well, I think we can win it."
Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.
