The Lexington Knights baseball team has been a mainstay in Lexington since 2009, but this 2014 version brings a lot of new faces to the LABL. The team came into the spring as the most unknown of the 4 teams in the new league, making them a bit of an underdog.   Even as this report hits the press, they still have some unknowns themselves as a group of college ball players will be joining the team once their respective seasons are over.  There are whispers of them being "not athletic enough" and "not having enough pitching." While those might be true, this team is gritty and a heavy hitting team that fears no ace or no lead. Assistant manager and pitching coach, Matt Roberts commented, "This team just doesn't care about the score, they keep fighting and have fun doing it." They finished the spring losing just one of four preseason games and showed they will be competing for wins on a game to game basis.  When playing the Knights, no team should feel safe with the lead. While they are a good hitting team, they don't have a ton of power. The team motto going into the season is, "OBP", which means the Knights are focused on getting guys on base and having quality at-bats to manufacture runs.

The Knights will be led on offense by Minnesota transplant Matt Youngquist and Tennessee defector Jesse Lane.  Duke Gatsos and Wes Drinkard will look to do the heavy hitting. Those guys will have to drive in runs for the Knights to compete against the pitching from the three teams they will be competing with each week.

Speaking of pitching and the three other teams in the league, the Bombers, Stallions, and Miners all have established aces on their staff. The Knights do not have that kind of established, dominant pitcher.  Right now they are led by Matt Roberts who will be getting the opening day nod to start the 2014 season. Matt will not get a ton of fastballs by batters on velocity alone, but is effective at pounding the zone and mixing his cutter, curve, and change-up to keep batters off balance. He says, "If I ever throw a no-hitter or strike 15 guys out I was only dreaming. I don't plan on blowing you away, I just want to get you out.”  Getting one guy out at a time is the name of the game and seems like good philosophy for the Knights as well. Roberts also added, "I am honored to get the opening day nod and give my team a chance to win. Opening day is always special and I get to throw to my twin brother (Mike Roberts), that never gets old." Mike Roberts added, "I enjoy catching him because I usually don't have to work too hard." He added a sarcastic grin and a jab at his brother. The Knights will also be relying on Jesse Lane, who has the most "electric" stuff on the team and once he finds his groove he might be that ace the Knights are looking for. Wes Drinkard, Pat Elzinga, and Matt Youngquist all look to get significant innings on the mound for the Knights' staff this year who might look thin on paper, but  as said by manager, Duke Gatos, “these guys are gritty and work hard.  We will have games where we will our way to wins.”  This team looks to have fun and in the end and just play solid baseball. Their Opening Day BBQ the day before the first game and the number of guys who have been dedicated to come out to pre-season practices are a testament to how they will likely become a close-knit team by the end of the season.