Kyra Kreuscher gets job done on mound, at plate for East Islip
East Islip starting pitcher Kyra Kreuscher delivers a pitch against Bay Shore in a Suffolk non-league softball game on Thursday at East Islip. Credit: George A Faella
You name it, Kyra Kreuscher can do it.
The Seton Hall commit pitched a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts and drove in the only run in East Islip’s 1-0 home win over Bay Shore in non-league softball Thursday morning.
“I’ve been coaching a long time and I’ve had some big-time pitchers, but she might be the best I’ve ever coached,” coach Jason McGowan said. “We’re struggling a little bit at the plate right now, but with Kyra on the mound, we always have a chance.”
Madison Sturtz and Kailyn Bloch both were hit by pitches in the bottom of the first inning to set up Kreuscher's at-bat with runners on first and second and no outs.
“When I got up, I just knew I needed to get that run in and get us on the board early,” Kreuscher said.
On an 0-and-1 count, Kreuscher laced a line-drive single to center to drive in Sturtz.
Bay Shore's Deanna Ebert managed to get out of the inning allowing only the one run and managed to minimize damage throughout the game. Ebert hit two more batters and walked one, but she kept working her way out of jams to hold East Islip to one run on three hits.
“We had a ton of opportunities, but we just lacked that big hit to get us going,” McGowan said. “Give credit to Ebert, she kept us off balance and made some good pitches when it counted.”
But that one run proved to be all the cushion Kreuscher needed.
Bay Shore’s only hits came on fellow Seton Hall commit Caroline Hobbes’ single to right in the fourth inning and Morgan Kramer’s infield single with two outs in the seventh.
Kreuscher improved to 8-1 and now has 120 strikeouts in 58 innings, good for 14.5 strikeouts per seven innings and 2.07 per inning. “My curve and riser combination usually fakes hitters out and messes up their swings,” said Kreuscher, East Islip’s only senior.
She has already thrown three no-hitters this year and leads East Islip at the plate with a .553 batting average and two home runs.
After reaching the Suffolk Class A semifinals last year, Kreuscher is looking to get East Islip (10-1) over the hump in her senior year.
“We’ve fallen a little short the last few years,” McGowan said. “But she wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
