When Evergreen Park senior Lily Strand gets on a real roll with her strikeout pitch, it can be very uneventful playing defense behind her.
Maybe even … boring?
“I’ve been told that,” Strand said, smiling. “I’ve been told that a couple of times.”
Sophomore shortstop Sofia Panatera wasn’t one of them.
“No, it’s actually really fun watching Lily do what she does best,” Panatera said. “We’re always up and alive on the field. And I love watching Lily pitch.”
Panatera did a lot of watching Tuesday afternoon as Strand dominated in the circle for the Mustangs in an 18-0 South Suburban Red victory over host Reavis in Burbank.
Strand struck out 10 in four innings and allowed no hits for Evergreen Park (3-2, 1-0). Panatera hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs. Strand, Dora Cihocki and Jackie Jones contributed three hits apiece.
Aubree Halloran and Juliana Chalupa drew walks for Reavis (4-3, 1-1).
Strand, a Saint Louis recruit, has a two-pronged mission for the 2023 season.
One is to have fun with her teammates.
“I want to go out hard with an amazing group of girls,” she said. “I’ve been so lucky to be with these girls for the three years that I’ve been at EP.
“I just want to take the most of every opportunity we can.”
The other is to reach her goal of taking the Mustangs to state. In 2022, the Mustangs were a Class 3A contender, only to be shocked by Richards in a sectional semifinal.
“We definitely fell short in that game,” Strand said. “I mean, nobody expected that. Nobody wanted that. But every loss is more of a learning experience.
“That one was something you use to motivate yourself for the next year. I’m lucky enough to get a next year, so I’ll take that and run with it.”
Strand still ended the season as one of the Southland’s top pitchers. She earned conference player of the year and all-state honors.
The right-hander struck out 205 in 102 2/3 innings, posting an ERA of 1.09. She also hit a robust .541 with 48 runs, seven doubles, five homers and 27 RBIs.
In Tuesday’s win over Reavis, she only allowed two balls to be put in play. Neither left the infield. Of her 10 strikeouts, four came on called third strikes.
Pretty par for the course during her years as coach Michelle Vucsko’s staff ace.
“We’re fortunate that Lily is able to just kind of mow people down and work on a lot of different pitches,” Vucsko said. “We got outs (Tuesday) with a lot of different options.
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“She was able to go in, out, up, down, off-speed. To have that many options and to get that many outs is really impressive.”
Strand made a quick impression on Jones, a senior transfer from California who has taken over the catching duties from graduated Mya Granados.
“Oh my gosh, Lily is a force to be reckoned with,” Jones said. “I have never caught someone as fast as her. It’s something special. I love catching her because she appreciates what I do, too. We work really well together.
“Lily’s attitude is the best. She’s very humble, and she is never satisfied. You will always see, when she gives up a hit, she’ll say, ‘I”m going to get the next one.’ She’s like a goldfish — you know, two-second memory span — in a good way.”
And always ready for the next pitch.
“I wouldn’t have in any other way,” Strand said. “I love, love, love pitching. It’s my favorite thing. I could do it every day. I think about it all the time.
“It’s so much fun to have that control of the game in your hands. It’s just really exciting.”
