Evergreen Park pitcher Lily Strand gets excited when she talks about how much she appreciates senior catcher Mya Granados.
“Oh, my gosh, it’s my favorite thing ever to have her back there,” Strand said. “Mya is the person I can lean on, on and off the field.
“She’s not only my catcher, but she’s one of my best friends. Knowing that she’s back there, and she wants the best for this team, really means a lot.”
Granados supported Strand both at the plate and behind it in Evergreen Park’s 10-0 South Suburban Red victory over visiting Oak Lawn on Tuesday.
Granados went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs for the Mustangs (13-2-1, 10-2). Dora Cihocki also homered, while Strand helped her cause with a home run and two singles. Strand tossed a one-hitter, striking out 16 in six innings.
Alexus Martinez had the lone hit for Oak Lawn (8-8, 6-6).
Strand didn’t hesitate to tell Granados how much she appreciates her during one key moment in the fourth inning.
Oak Lawn had runners on first and second with two outs when Granados made a leaping catch on a high pitch.
After securing the strikeout, Strand approached Granados and shouted, “Nice grab!”
“Yeah, it was a curveball a little too high,” Strand said, smiling. “It could have gotten by. I had to thank her.”
Granados is near the top of the hitting chart for the Mustangs. She’s batting .445 with nine doubles, five home runs and 31 RBIs.
In addition to catching, she has played at second base, third base and first base since Evergreen Park coach Michelle Vucsko pulled her up to the varsity as a freshman.
“We started her on the JV team, but we knew from the beginning that it wasn’t going to last very long,” Vucsko said. “We had some issues going on, where we had to find a different lineup. And she’s been up with us ever since.
“She’s one of those kids who we just kind of enjoy having around. She brings a lot of good positivity, good leadership, and does a real good job of molding the people underneath her.”
In her first at-bat against Oak Lawn, Granados flied out to right field. Her solo home run in the third and her three-run blast in the fourth were both prodigious shots.
“When you see a good pitch, you go for it,” Granados said. “I really liked the pitches today. She was throwing inside on me. I saw it, and I liked it and got some good swings.”
In the circle, Strand (5-2-1) was virtually unhittable. The junior right-hander struck out the first 10 Oak Lawn hitters and struck out the side in five of the six innings.
Not that she noticed.
“You know, I don’t think about the strikeouts that much,” Strand said. “It’s a perk, but I just love being able to work a count and attack batters. I don’t really keep track of the strikeouts.
“My favorite thing about pitching is getting to see a batter swing, see their stance and figure out what would work best. When thinking of spots, it gets really precise, where exactly you want to put the pitch, on or off the plate. I love getting to pick where to put it.”
Strand has 131 strikeouts in 64.2 innings with a 0.95 ERA.
“It’s her movement,” Granados said. “I can sometimes struggle back there with her movement. I mean, it’s just so good.
“She throws really hard. So of course anyone is going to struggle with a hard pitcher. And with how she is able to mix speeds up, she really is impossible to face. If I was a hitter against her, I would definitely be a little intimidated.”
