Pitching in pink
With her brightly-colored hair and ‘full of life’ demeanor, freshman Andrysiak delivers for Oak Forest against Stagg
There is so much to see when Oak Forest’s Melanie Andrysiak is in the circle pitching.
She’s cool and calm, with a fastball that snaps and a wicked change-up. She was the picture of brilliance Wednesday for the host Bengals in a 5-1 victory over Stagg.
But the hair. You can’t miss the hair.
It’s flaming pink.
“It used to be really red,” Andrysiak said. “One day, (assistant) coach (Jeff ) Kelly brought his daughter up. His daughter called me Elmo.”
As in Elmo, the Muppet character from “Sesame Street.” And now? “Everybody calls me ‘Melmo,’ ” Andrysiak said, laughing.
But there’s a more serious, caring side to her hair color.
“I’ve been doing my hair pink for a while,” Andrysiak said. “My mom had cancer twice and is recovered. I just wanted to stand out.”
Andrysiak stood out as both a pitcher and a batter Wednesday in the nonconference win.
The freshman right-hander struck out 10 and allowed just five hits for Oak Forest (17-6). She also went 2-for-2 with a home run. Senior catcher Amber Richter added a two-run homer.
Morgan Natanek had two hits for Stagg (4-8-1).
Andrysiak was brought up to the varsity at the start of the season by Oak Forest coach Nick Fuentes.
He had been tipped off about her ability. But the hair ...
“She came in as this lanky kid with pink hair,” Fuentes said. “I was like, ‘Is this the kid I’ve heard throws pretty hard and was a solid player?’
“I had her throw a bullpen, and after that, I knew she’d have to be with us. After that bullpen session, she sent me a message asking what she needed to work on to get better. She’s a sweet kid.”
Andrysiak pitched behind junior Hailey Wesner. During an April 27 game against Bradley-Bourbonnais, Wesner went down with an injury in the second inning.
“It was one of those situations where we could have panicked and fell apart,” Fuentes said. “But ‘Mel’ came in, took the ball, and kept us in the game.”
Oak Forest won 6-5.
This season, Andrysiak (7-2) has 72 strikeouts with a 1.36 ERA in 41 innings. She’s also batting .425 with two home runs and 15 RBIs.
Her calm in the circle was on full display against Stagg.
The Chargers had base runners in every inning but the seventh. In three innings, Andrysiak struck out the final hitter. In another, she retired the batter on a tap to the circle.
Behind the plate, Richter was anything but concerned that Andrysiak would lose her composure.
“‘Melmo’ is a unique individual,” Richter said. “She faces every situation with a smile on her face. She’s always smiling.
“When there are runners on, she never doubts herself. Never.
And she’s very confident when she’s pitching. She’s full of life.”
Richter gave the Bengals a shot of adrenaline in the bottom of the first when she followed a single by Rachel Minnich with a two-run homer to left field.
Andrysiak, the next batter, hit a towering blast over the fence in center to make it 3-0.
Richter’s home run was her third of the season. She’s batting .453 with 25 RBIs.
“Honestly, I felt that the home run motivated the rest of the team,” Richter said. “Then ‘Mel’ came up and hit another one over, so it definitely motivated the rest of the girls and helped us play the way we did the rest of the game.”
Richter also made a crucial defensive play in the top of the sixth.
Stagg scored a two-out run on a throwing error to first base. The throw to the plate was late, but Richter made a perfect peg to second base to nail the trailing runner.
“Very scary,” Richter said, smiling. “When the ball came to me and then going back down to two ... it was like bang-bang.
“I heard my coaches yelling, ‘Two, two.’ Thank God it was a perfect throw.”