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Canfield’s postseason run special for Knittle
By Dan Hiner
Struthers
The Canfield baseball team’s 5-2 win over Howland in a sectional final was a special moment for head coach Gary Knittle.
It was Knittle’s first playoff game as a varsity head coach since 2014, but it was also his first tournament game as a head coach since overcoming cancer.
Knittle was diagnosed with thyroid cancer two years ago. He underwent surgery and radiation treatment, but returned just in time for the Cardinals’ district title.
Knittle coached Liberty baseball for seven years before becoming the junior varsity head coach at Canfield. He spent five years with the Cardinals before taking over for former Canfield head coach Matt Koenig following the 2018 season.
Koenig led the Cardinals to back-to-back Division II district titles in 2017 and 2018.
“Big shoes to fill,” Knittle said. “We lose 14 seniors, coming into the season no body picked us to do well in our league and we go 10-0 — our first conference or league title since 2011, my kids had to tell me.”
Canfield atheltic director Greg Cooper approached Knittle about becoming the head coach. Knittle didn’t want to return to coaching at the time, but changed his mind.
“The Canfield community rallied behind me. They were my second family, and I wanted to give back,” Knittle said.
Knittle filled his staff with connections he made during his time at Boardman and Canfield.
After taking the position, Knittle added Rick Havrilla, Patrick O’Brien, Carmen Tarantino and Edmond Pilolli to the coaching staff. Rick Havrilla is the father of third baseman Ricky Havrilla, O’Brien and Tarantino came from Boardman and Pilolli played for Knittle.
“I’m thankful to have the staff that I have to guide us,” Knittle said. “It’s not all me. We make decisions every single day. All of us decide what our gameplans gonna be and it’s worked out for us.”
The players have experience with Knittle from their time with the JV team. Ricky Havirlla said every coach has a differnt style, but the Cardinals haven’t “dropped off” given the coaching change.
“He’s really rallied the troops all year,” Ricky Havrilla said. “We play every out just for him.”
The Cardinals beat Alliance 8-3 in a district semifinal on Monday and will play rival Poland today. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Bob Cene Park in Struthers.
Canfield and Poland tried to schedule each other prior to the Bulldogs’ readmittance into the playoffs. The two teams tried to fit a game in during the regular season, but their schedules didn’t align.
“It’s not that we didn’t want to play each other,” Knittle said. “It’s just when we were on spring break, they in town and when they were on spring break, we had league games.”
Knittle’s experiences and baseball somewhat align. Baseball is a sport with ups and downs. Knittle’s cancer diagnosis allows his players to receive perspective.
“I tell our kids all the time, ‘You’re gonna strike out in life, you’re gonna make errors in life, you’re gonna fail. It’s about getting back up and moving on,’” Knittle said.
“We’re only here once. Make the most of it.”