![]() ![]() The guys are mature enough to know, I’m there to compete.”Īs Goelz got to know Lyszczyk, he grew to appreciate even more the risks she took in pursuing her baseball career. “But once you get past that awkwardness between boys and girls, it’s just normal. “I always tell, like, younger girls that want to pursue baseball that weird 13-to-14 year is the worst year,” she said. It hasn’t always been easy for Lyszczyk to find her place as the only girl on an all-boys team. His first thought when Lyszczyk reached out to him was that she was “very courageous.” She settled on Division II Sonoma State and reached out to head coach John Goelz, who’d never had a woman on his roster in his 38 years with the program. She entered the transfer portal and began to search for a school that would allow her to play baseball and had a strong marketing program. Lyszczyk returned in time to make one relief appearance for Rivier at the end of last season and then threw 10 2/3 innings for Sag Harbor last summer.Īfter three years of being mostly on the East Coast, Lyszczyk wanted to be closer to home. Throughout her catching days, she’d dabbled as a pitcher, and as she rehabbed, she turned her focus toward pitching full-time. The shoulder injury ended Lyszczyk’s catching career, but that didn’t deter her from continuing to pursue her baseball dream. Ultimately, she would have surgery on her right rotator cuff. ![]() She played in 16 games as a catcher and five as a pitcher, but began experiencing shoulder pain. Rivier didn’t have a 2021 season because of the pandemic, but that summer Lyszczyk suited up for the Sag Harbor Whalers of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League. She also threw a scoreless inning in a relief appearance. Lyszczyk appeared in seven games before COVID-19 shuttered the season, collecting a hit and a walk and scoring two runs in 10 plate appearances. She also became the first Canadian woman to play college baseball in the United States. Lyszczyk landed at Rivier University, a Division III school in New Hampshire, where in the spring of 2020 she became the first woman to catch in an NCAA men’s baseball game. She caught the eye of several scouts at the tournament encouraging her to pursue catching in college, something she never thought was possible. Then in 2019, she participated in the MLB Grit Invitational, an event aimed at women playing high school baseball. That led to a number of opportunities: She played for the Canadian National Women’s Team from 2018-19. She figured it out and ended up catching for the Chiefs for five years. And if not, you’ll have to kind of figure it out,” she said of the arrangement. ![]() She joined the Whalley Chiefs of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League and was given the opportunity to catch on a probationary basis. ![]() “There was no hope that I would ever really do anything with it.”ĭespite the initial struggles, Lyszczyk stuck with catching. I closed my eyes,” she said with a laugh. It took some convincing for her coaches to agree to let her play behind the plate, and she admits there were growing pains. “I always liked being in the plays, so having the opportunity to be in every single play and I get to wear this gear? I was hooked,” she said. She wasn’t originally a catcher, but as a self-proclaimed “swag girl,” she was drawn to the gear. When forced to decide between the two, she went with baseball. But as she got into middle school, it became harder to juggle playing both. The native of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, is a natural athlete who grew up playing both baseball and softball. Being a “first” is nothing new for Lyszczyk (pronounced Lissick), who makes history seemingly with every appearance on the diamond. ![]()
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