Marena Knowles

Kelly Barnhill

hunting and fishing

Clemson University

Coaching staff, the new softball program, and it’s a great university, not too far from home (I am a major homebody)

There is no one in particular. I watch and learn from all of them.

My sister is 16 and she plays softball too, mama is a yoga instructor, dad is our hitting coach‚ and my grandparents are our biggest supporters and cheerleaders

Best hitter in the ACC

I didn’t start playing softball till I was 11. I didn’t want to play softball in the first place, but my sister did. I was basically forced into playing the sport and I ended up loving it. I played with a B ball team out of Hawkinsville called the Knockouts till I was 14. I changed to a Bullets team in order to face better competition when I was 15, but the team ended up breaking up. So then, I went to EC Bullets Biele and got a real dose of what playing with the best of the best was like. I was 15 years old at the time and I was playing against some of the best 18u teams in the country. I struggled really bad my first year because I had never played such an advanced level of softball. I didn’t grow up playing softball since I could walk and I didn’t grow up with the most elite softball players like my other teammates had. I went from playing with a team that no one had even heard of to the number one team in the nation. After my first season with Bullets Biele, I was determined to be able to hang with the big dogs in the upcoming summer. Our coaches told us to hide our softball bags and to take a break from softball during the winter, but I didn’t do that. I worked and worked while everyone was taking a break and my hard work payed off. After my 2nd summer season with the Bullets, I led my team in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and had the least number of strikeouts. I struck out only 5 times in 66 at bats against some of the best 18u pitchers in the country.