C.B. South's Maddie Decker stays positive after knee injury

Maddie Decker is a pretty positive person.

The quick-with-a-smile senior is the kind of softball player who picks up her teammates instead of chastising them for what they did wrong. She's a selfless competitor who does whatever coach Dan Hayes needs her to do, no matter the circumstances.

One would think that what happened to Central Bucks South's optimistic leader Friday afternoon would change that.

It was the sixth inning at Quakertown and Decker, the Titans' starting pitcher, came charging in on a ground ball. She twisted her left knee, heard a pop, and fell down in excruciating pain. An athletic trainer rushed onto the field, telling Decker and Hayes that she suffered damage to her anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and patella.

It's not an official diagnosis, but a blow nonetheless for a player who loves the game the way Decker does.

But a couple of hours after it had happened, Decker sat in her house, resting and icing. The talk wasn't about losing her final season in a C.B. South uniform or lamenting the play that injured her.

The University of Maine recruit was clear about her intentions to get back onto the field.

"Whatever time frame, we will miss all phases of her game," Hayes said. "We will miss her leadership a great deal. She's the epitome of what a captain should be."

Decker said the early success of the Titans (6-1) was unexpected. She smiled, speaking volumes about how proud she is of the team.

At the beginning of the season, not much was expected of C.B. South. The Titans were young and inexperienced. But what they did have was Decker.

Through seven games, Decker is hitting .632 with two home runs and a slugging percentage of .947. On the mound, she's 6-1 with a 2.33 earned run average and has played error-free softball.

Not bad for a player who quit pitching when she was 13. Decker isn't going to pitch in college - she was recruited to play third base. But where Hayes and the Titans needed her was inside the circle. So she did it, no questions asked.

For now, Decker waits. On Monday, she has a doctor's appointment when she will find out more.

"I won't be taken out of the dugout. I will be in the dugout cheering them on," Decker said. "My voice will definitely be heard. I'm a loud person, energetic. It's not that they will be missing my voice."