JEFFERSON TWP — When it comes to baseball, Knoch senior shortstop Chris Law is a dedicated student of the game.

And he never stops studying.

“As good as he is, I can't take any credit for it,” Knights coach George Bradley said. “That kid is always working on his own to get better.

“He studies hitting technique. He works on his swing ... on every phase of his game.”

Law entered the WPIAL quarterfinal round hitting .509 this season (29 for 57) — one of 25 players in the entire WPIAL batting over .500 — while sporting a slugging percentage of .711 and an on-base percentage of .603.

A four-year starter at Knoch, he hit .400 as a freshman, .446 last year, but only .230 as a sophomore.

“Just an off year, I guess,” Law said, smiling.

He has a lot to smile about this year.

Besides his hitting numbers, Law has excelled as Knoch's closer this spring. He's compiled six saves, has not allowed a run in 10.1 innings, has walked no one and surrendered only six hits.

“Chris approached me about doing some pitching this year and I was a little hesitant,” Bradley admitted. “He's played a lot of shortstop and I didn't want to mess with his arm.

“He convinced me to give him a look. Opponents are hitting .162 against him and he's at 71 percent on first-pitch strikes ... Who wouldn't want that as a closer?”

Law works on all phases of his game all of the time.

“I don't read books to study baseball technique, but I look at You-Tube quite a bit and study video,” he said. “I'm a contact hitter, an on-base guy, and that's the area I look to improve and refine.

“I might have hit a couple of home runs in Pony League ... not much since.”

Law hits near the top of the order for Knoch and serves as one of the trigger-men for an offense averaging 6.5 runs per game. The Knights have scored 10 runs or more in a game six times this season.

Law credits former Butler assistant coach Eric Furl with helping him as a hitter and the Law family has a batting cage set up in the backyard.

“I've taken hitting instruction from Coach Furl,” Law said. “My dad pitches to me a lot and I try to take 100 swings a day off the batting tee in our backyard.”

That work is paying off.

“I keep track of particularly hard-hit balls and Chris has 21 of those,” Bradley said. “He's only struck out five times, too. He has a knowledge of the strike zone.”

Defensively, Law played third base for Knoch as a freshman, second base the past two years, then moved to shortstop this season after the Knights' previous shortstop, Hyte Eurich, graduated.

While Knoch went 15-2 in the regular season, won its section title and reached the WPIAL playoffs for the fourth straight year, Law will be going from one winning program to another. He will attend Seton Hill University and play baseball there next season.

Seton Hill finished 43-13 this spring, reaching the Atlantic regional for the third consecutive year. The Griffins have won more than 40 games in four straight seasons.

“I felt comfortable when I visited there,” Law said. “Coaches (Mark) Marizzaldi and D.J. Cannon run regimented practices that I really like.

“It's a top-flight program and they have my major (business administration). Education comes first to me. Baseball is second.”

Law carries a 3.9 grade point average. Slippery Rock, Gannon, Canisius, VMI and Toledo were among other schools he was considering.