Knoch grad Madison Gardner working her way back to form with Pitt-Greensburg softball team after devastating injury

Madison Gardner appeared to be on her way to a stellar freshman season with the Pitt-Greensburg softball team last spring when disaster struck.

The Bobcats were playing their first (technically) home doubleheader of 2024 on March 24 at Seton Hill. Late in the second game against Kenyon, a shallow pop fly was hit to the outfield, and Gardner sprinted from her second base position to try to make the play. She collided with right fielder Brenna Altman, and her left leg got twisted in the pile-up.

Gardner suffered a broken fibula as well as an injury to her left ankle. But what initially was thought to be a high-ankle sprain turned out to be torn ligaments.

She had surgery April 12 that included putting a metal plate in her leg and a series of screws in her ankle. That ended her season. At the time, the Knoch grad was hitting .400 (12 for 30) and had scored seven runs.

“I was very disappointed,” she said. “I played really, really good (during the team’s Florida trip), and I came home and was still doing good. It definitely took a toll on me.”

But it wasn’t the end of her ordeal.

As winter approached, pain in her left ankle persisted. She went back to the doctor, and a further examination concluded that all the hardware had to be removed from her leg.

A second surgery ensued, further setting back Gardner’s recovery. Gardner said she did what she could to try to stay in some semblance of softball shape. She did a lot of upper body workouts and did as much with her legs as possible, being mindful of the still-healing second surgery.

“The hardware was supposed to stay in the rest of my life,” she said.

It wasn’t until just a few weeks before the 2025 season that she was able to resume softball activities. She received final clearance to participate fully Feb. 10, less than a month before the Bobcats’ first game in Florida.

“I think this year is definitely just getting myself back healthy and getting myself involved again in playing softball and being on the field,” Gardner said. “I’m not so worried about stats, per se. I’m more worried about getting back healthy.”

Heading into the weekend’s games, Gardner was hitting .273 (6 for 22) and had scored six runs. She said her hitting hasn’t been affected in the aftermath of the injury, but she isn’t as mobile as she was before, usually being lifted for a courtesy runner when she gets on base.

She said the pain is still there, although she continues to play through it. Her hope is that the longer she plays on it and rebuilds muscle and stamina, the less it will bother her.

She called the team’s Florida trip, during which the Bobcats went 3-7 “definitely a struggle” from a personal standpoint.

“I did play all right, though,” she said. “It was definitely in the back of my mind that I was in pain still, and it has taken a toll on me a little bit. Hopefully, it’s just a longer recovery process than we expected.

“But I’m going to rehab it every day and hope for the best.”

Defensively, Gardner is back at third base, her natural position. Last season, with senior Kacey Weller entrenched at third, coach Chuck Myers asked Gardner to move to second base.

The coach said he had no qualms about asking Gardner to switch positions.

“She has a good softball IQ, which is very, very important,” said Myers, in his ninth season at the helm. “She understands, if the ball is hit, who is moving where, who should go where. She’s a coach’s daughter.”

Chris Gardner is in his fourth season as Knoch’s softball coach after several years as an assistant. Madison said there were plenty of benefits to growing up with a coach — while admitting there were a few “rough car rides home” — and credited her father with molding her as a player.

Because of the time Chris Gardner has to put into coaching the Knights, he doesn’t get to see as many of Madison’s college games. He wasn’t at the game at Seton Hill last season when she got injured, which, she said, “definitely made him quite upset.”

But he still offers plenty of support and catches games online. When he watches this season, he will see Madison trying her best to get back to where she was before that devastating injury.

While she considers herself a utility player capable of fielding multiple positions, Gardner said she is happy to be back at third, where she played throughout high school and travel ball. In reality, she is happy to be playing at all.

“I am very lucky that I am able to come back from this and still be able to play at college and still be on the ballfield,” she said. “I give props to (Myers) for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go out there and play.”

She is part of a large contingent of younger players — 17 freshmen or sophomores on the roster — who will try to boost the Bobcats into the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference postseason.

After going 9-9 in the AMCC during the 2024 regular season, UPG won its opening game in the conference tournament before losing its next two.

Gardner is hopeful of experiencing her first collegiate postseason action come May. Personally, she has tempered her individual expectations and simply will try to contribute to the effort in any way possible.

“Just play like I know how to play and not let (the injury) set me back as much,” she said. “Just be there for my team and show them that I can come back from this and help them win games.”