A Brockton Rox pitcher is set to make history this summer after a first behind the plate

June 18, 2024

Marika Lyszczyk made history in 2020 when she became the first woman to catch in a men’s collegiate baseball game. Despite a pandemic, a major surgery, a position change and a new school, Lyszczyk is poised to blaze yet another trail this summer when she suits up with the Brockton Rox as the first woman to play in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

Being a “first” is nothing new for Lyszczyk (pronounced Lissick), who makes history seemingly with every appearance on the diamond. The native of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, is a natural athlete who grew up playing both baseball and softball. But as she got into middle school, it became harder to juggle playing both. When forced to decide between the two, she went with baseball.

She wasn’t originally a catcher, but as a self-proclaimed “swag girl,” she was drawn to the gear. “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. It took some convincing for her coaches to agree to let her play behind the plate, and she admits there were growing pains.

“I was horrible. I closed my eyes,” she said with a laugh. “There was no hope that I would ever really do anything with it.”

Despite the initial struggles, Lyszczyk stuck with catching. She joined the Whalley Chiefs of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League and was given the opportunity to catch on a probationary basis.

“If you can hang, we’ll keep you around. And if not, you’ll have to kind of figure it out,” she said of the arrangement.

She figured it out and ended up catching for the Chiefs for five years. That led to a number of opportunities: She played for the Canadian National Women’s Team from 2018-19. Then in 2019, she participated in the MLB Grit Invitational, an event aimed at women playing high school baseball. She caught the eye of several scouts at the tournament encouraging her to pursue catching in college, something she never thought was possible.

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 also became the first Canadian woman to play college baseball in the United States. 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 threw a scoreless inning in a relief appearance.

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 played in 16 games as a catcher and five as a pitcher, but began experiencing shoulder pain. Ultimately, she would have surgery on her right rotator cuff.

The shoulder injury ended Lyszczyk’s catching career, but that didn’t deter her from continuing to pursue her baseball dream. Throughout her catching days, she’d dabbled as a pitcher, and as she rehabbed, she turned her focus toward pitching full-time. 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.

After three years of being mostly on the East Coast, Lyszczyk wanted to be closer to home. 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. 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.

His first thought when Lyszczyk reached out to him was that she was “very courageous.”

“It’s not like Jackie Robinson exactly. But it’s unique. And it’s groundbreaking,” he said.

It hasn’t always been easy for Lyszczyk to find her place as the only girl on an all-boys team.

“I always tell, like, younger girls that want to pursue baseball that weird 13-to-14 year is the worst year,” she said. “But once you get past that awkwardness between boys and girls, it’s just normal. The guys are mature enough to know, I’m there to compete.”

As Goelz got to know Lyszczyk, he grew to appreciate even more the risks she took in pursuing her baseball career. “She told me some stories … about playing on teams where some of her teammates treated her poorly because she was a woman,” he said. “It just gave me some insight into how hard it really has been for her to do this.”

She said it’s important for her teammates to know that she doesn’t want to be a novelty act.

“If I’m not good enough to play, then I shouldn’t be playing,” she said.

Marika Lyszczyk continues to defy the odds as she made her 2nd appearance of the season! Lyszczyk pitched a 1⃣2⃣3⃣ 7th inning vs. Menlo and maintains a 0.00 ERA in two appearances! 🔥⚾️ #NomaNation @espnW @NCAADII @goccaa @SSU_1961 @marikalyszczyk pic.twitter.com/7DMFl0cbVk

— Sonoma State Seawolves (@SonomaSeawolves) March 8, 2023

It has been a learning year for Lyszczyk, who is facing more advanced competition at Sonoma State. She’s made only two appearances thus far but has yet to allow an earned run. Goelz has been impressed with her patience in her role and said her impact on the club has extended well beyond her two appearances.

“It’s just a joy to have her on the team. It’s a joy to watch her practice,” Goelz said. “She’s got a smile on her face all the time, and she brings a positive energy to our program.

“When I was a player, I was much more immature. I wanted to play, and if I wasn’t playing, it must be somebody else’s fault because I’m so wonderful. But she’s not like that at all.”

Before she made the full transition to pitching, she only threw fastballs. She knew how to throw off-speed pitches but didn’t feel comfortable enough to use them in games. She’s gained confidence in her slider, changeup and curveball in recent weeks, to the point that she feels she can throw them in any count.

“I’m a fly ball, groundball pitcher,” she said. “My goal is always to let them hit it. Hit it to somebody in the field. I put a lot of trust in infielders and outfielders because I know they’re good enough.”

Lyszczyk has leaned on her experience catching to help her game plan on the mound.

“I definitely know what I want to throw, because I know where the hitter’s set up, ” she said. “I know where they’ve missed before. Are they on their front foot? Are they on their back foot? How did they react to the slider? To the changeup? To the fastball?”

Lyszczyk’s experience with the Seawolves has been overwhelmingly positive thus far.

“They’re so awesome,” Lyszczyk said of her teammates. “It takes a real special team, I think, to have a girl and be able to kind of accept the whole situation. It’s like, I have so many brothers, and we’re all friends outside of baseball.

“Going into the game, I’ve never felt so supported from a team.”

Lyszczyk still has two years of eligibility, and she wants to continue playing baseball as long as she can. But she’s also preparing for a life after her playing days. She was part of MLB’s 2022 Creator Class, a program designed to partner young, talented content creators with the league to become MLB brand ambassadors. Through TikTok and Instagram, Lyszczyk reaches tens of thousands of people with her baseball-related content. She enjoys highlighting the fun and quirky sides of the game.

“Statistically, baseball is a dying sport. You have a lot of older people going to games, and we want to start having younger kids and everybody wanting to play again, right?” she said. “I think for me, the biggest aspect that I want to bring is the fun back into the game, showing that the sport is for everyone. No matter if you’re a girl, boy or whatever ethnicity you may be or what kind of background you come from, you can have fun and play this game, and you can have fun at a high level.”

That approach to the game aligned well with what the Brockton Rox are doing as part of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Based in Massachusetts, the Rox made headlines last summer with a roster filled with sons of former major-league stars, including Manny Ramírez, David Ortiz and Keith Foulke. This summer, they are hosting the Savannah Bananas, an exhibition team known for its zany antics, at their home field about 26 miles south of Boston, with plans of bringing elements of the Bananas’ style of play into some of their games. The season starts May 24.

“The most exciting part for me is I’m gonna have a lot of creative freedom with the Rox to be able to show my story and have people follow along there,” she said. “I’m excited to meet my new teammates and be able to make videos of them and kind of get to know them and their stories.”

Brockton team owner Norm Laviolette was thrilled when Lyszczyk reached out to him with interest in playing for them this summer.

“I think it was very exciting for us when she did reach out to our organization, because to me, that means that people are noticing that we’re trying to move forward and do things a bit different,” he said. “Having fun and being good are not mutually exclusive skill sets. Obviously, you have to have a sort of base level of skill and talent. Well, she clears that bar leaps and bounds. So we’re like, well, yeah, this is exactly what we want to show to our fan base here in Massachusetts, which is, we’re doing things differently.”

Goelz sees this as just the beginning for Lyszczyk.

“Her future is rosy; it’s bright. She has a chance to do great things with her life,” he said. “I can’t imagine anybody coming in here and doing it as well as she’s done it. She’s a really special person.”

(Top photo: Justin Ferrari / Sonoma State University Athletics)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k21na2pjZ3xzfJFsZmlsX2Z%2FcLnAq6CkmV2hxrTGwrOwpGWWnr%2B0wIywpqaZnmKwsLjLnp6imaSaeqSt05yfnqpf