Greetings K Club Members,

Let me start by thanking you for your support by joining K Club. We appreciate your efforts to enhance athletics at Knox and the experience it provides for our student-athletes. I am eager to watch our K Club grow as our athletic teams do the same. I look forward to meeting you and hope to see you on campus in the near future.

Now in my third year as head coach of the Prairie Fire softball team, I am happy to report that our team is on the rise as a tough competitor in the Midwest Conference.  We were picked to finish third in the Midwest Conference South Division. Our young team has been quickly rising in stock as it continues to gain experience with every game. We are currently getting ready to start conference play this weekend as we welcome Illinois College on April 1. We are also very excited as the 2012 Midwest Conference Crossover will be played in Waukegan, Illinois, over the weekend of April 14 and 15. It will be good to have it back in Illinois this year.

We are led this year by returning All-Midwest Conference selection Amber Eisha ’14 (South Wilmington, IL). Last season she led the team on offense with seven doubles, five home runs, and 19 RBIs while sporting a .349 batting average in her first season.

Also back in the circle for Knox is sophomore Anna Lemen '14 (Cincinnati, OH), who started 13 games -- completing six of them -- and led the team in ERAs while hurling 63 innings. Lemen and Eisha pitched all but 12 innings last season.

Among the other returners the Prairie Fire will count on are a pair of infielders -- sophomore Jordan Shaffer ‘14 (Atlanta, IL) and senior Beth McRill ‘12 (Streamwood, IL). Shaffer started all 29 games last season and batted .278 with 22 hits and nine RBIs. McRill also started every game and batted .268 with 19 hits and 10 runs batted in. She led the team in walks and stolen bases.

Junior Gabe Ayers (Hanna City, IL) is a member of the Prairie Fire football and baseball teams. He is an economics major. Get to know Gabe:

What’s your favorite place to eat in Galesburg? The Cellar. Best pizza in town.

What are your career goals? Go into advertising and then maybe become a sports agent.

Who is your favorite sports team? St. Louis Cardinals

What’s your favorite city to visit? St. Louis, Missouri

What’s your most memorable Knox moment? Catching my first career touchdown this last football season.

What’s your favorite thing about Knox? The sense of community, and the fact that I know the majority of people here by face.

What things you like to do in your free time? Hang out with friends, blow off steam at Wal-Mart.

What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you? I can't swim

What’s your favorite meal? Probably a big full rack of ribs.

What are the top three things on your Bucket list?
1. Skydive.
2. Go to a Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball game in Spokane, Washington.
3. Learn how to swim.

What is your pregame/pre-competition ritual or superstition? For football, I usually sit alone for about an hour before anybody else comes into the locker room, just listening to my music. For baseball, I like to stay loose because it is a different environment than football. So I normally am joking around, playing different games with my teammates.

What music do you have on your iPod? A little bit of everything. From Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Slipknot, Modest Mouse, and Backstreet Boys to Kanye West and Blake Shelton. Ask, and I probably have something like it.

Second Annual K Club Golf Outing Date Set

The K Club will host its second annual K Club Golf Outing at Soangetaha Country Club on Friday, June 15. Play will start at 9:00 a.m. Prizes will be awarded for longest drives, closest to the pin competitions, and the lowest scoring team.