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The Dublin Leprechauns made sure Marika Lyszczyk’s debut with the team was a winning one, scoring in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat the first-place San Rafael Pacific’s 7-6 on June 24.
Lyszczyk, who signed recently as a relief pitcher with the Leprechauns, pitched two innings in the game, becoming the first female player to play in Pecos League history.
She pitched the seventh and eighth innings, facing seven batters. She allowed one hit, a home run, but also struck out a batter. It kept the Leprechauns in the game, allowing the late game heroics.
Dublin scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to tie it and force extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Damone Hale made the Leprechauns a winner when his two-out single scored Charlie Bogue.
Lysczcyk’s performance exceeded the game plan for the night.
“We had originally scheduled to have Marika throw one inning,” said Leprechauns manager David Aceron. “But she was throwing strikes and was giving us some real energy, so I decided to keep her in the game.”
Lyszcyk’s journey to the Pecos League and the Leprechauns came after her extensive play in collegiate baseball, most recently with Sonoma State in 2023.
She joins the team as they head into the second half of the season above .500 and fight for a playoff spot.
“We are constantly trying to improve our pitching, both starters and in the bullpen,” Aceron said. “The Pecos is a pretty grueling league, with 54 games in a little over two months. We see Marika as a contributor going forward.”
Tickets and schedule for the Leprechauns can be found on their website at dublinleprechauns.com
Outstanding High School Athletic Awards
Tri-Valley Community Television’s 14th annual Outstanding High School Athletic Awards program may be seen streaming and televised on TV30.
Over 30 awards were presented to high school students from Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton to honor them for their outstanding athletic accomplishments.
The three big awards were: Coach of the Year, Corrigan Willis of Granada baseball; Girls Outstanding Athlete of the Year, Kaycie Burdick of Foothill volleyball and softball; and Boys’ Outstanding Athlete of the Year, Tristan Ti’a, Amador Valley football.
Burdick has committed to the University of Washington for softball, whereas Ti’a will take his talents to Oregon State.
“This event is the only one of its type in Northern California. It’s TV30’s way of honoring the outstanding scholar-athletes in the Tri-Valley,” said Dr. Marshall Kamena. president of the TV30 Foundation. “We appreciate our sponsors who help us produce this positive programming for the community.”
Viewers can watch streaming video on demand at tv30.org by clicking on the awards logo. It will also be televised on Comcast Channel 30 or AT&T U-Verse via Chanel 99 multiple times throughout the summer. The program is produced by Tri-Valley Community Television, the TV30 Foundation, their supporters, and the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton.
Each week throughout the 2024-25 school season, an outstanding high school athlete was selected and highlighted on TV30’s weekly sports program, “Tri-Valley Sports Final”. Those student-athletes are recognized during this program.
One of the most respected high school baseball coaches in California, Willis just served his 17th year at Granada High School, where he also graduated from in 1996.
The list of athletes that were selected as Athlete of the Week by the staff of “Tri-Valley Sports Final” included Tristan Ti’a (Amador Valley football), Kamarri Robinson (Livermore football), Kaycie Burdick (Foothill volleyball), Anthony Harrington (Amador Valley football), Jack Badger (Granada football), Maya Peav (Dublin tennis), Sade Bumpus (Granada cross country), Jayleen Sito (Amador Valley golf), Cameron Anderson (Dublin basketball), Gaia Lembo (Dublin basketball), Damien Miles (Granada basketball), Kasen Krueger (Amador Valley basketball), Jaiden Jones (Dublin basketball) and Addison Leomiti (Dublin basketball).
Rounding out the list were Asher Nischke (Livermore wrestling), SJ Martin (Granada wrestling), Maile Nguyen (Granada wrestling), Amir Anwary (Granada soccer), McKenna Charbonneau (Amador Valley softball), Ellie Novitske (Foothill softball), Sophia Gerochi (Livermore softball), Delaney Aumua (Granada softball), Laine Macosky (Livermore softball), Sophia Burdick (Foothill softball), Max Riter (Amador Valley volleyball), Tommy Brown (Granada baseball), Peyton Richards (Granada baseball), Alex Piscotty (Granada baseball) and Brooke Bennett (Granada swimming).
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
