Meet Central Catholic softball pitcher Emily York and catcher Elyssa Stenger
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Their personalities are as different and as complementary as the positions they play on the softball field.
Emily York is the no-nonsense pitcher. Elyssa Stenger is the calming catcher.
Together, the seniors have been all-state pillars at their positions and four-year starters for the Central Catholic High School softball team. Counting their junior high days, the duo has been pitching and catching since seventh grade.
It is an uncountable number of times that Emily has delivered a pitch that finished with the crack of Elyssa鈥檚 mitt. They have been doing it so long that neither remembers the first time they pitched and caught together.
鈥淚 think it has worked so well because we know each other so well and trust each other so much,鈥� says Elyssa, whose jersey number (9) has become a nickname (鈥淣iner鈥�) that has stuck on and off the field.
Elyssa has played in every varsity game for the Saints since her freshman year. With a .410 career average heading into May, Elyssa will threaten the school career batting record. Emily has played in all but four games, missing only because of an injury. She hit the 600-strikeout plateau in late April and is nearing the all-time record at Central Catholic in just 2陆 seasons. Their freshman season was canceled because of Covid-19.
鈥淭hey are a unique pair,鈥� Central Catholic coach Jeff Schade said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not only battery mates, but they鈥檙e the best of friends. As leaders, they don鈥檛 take days off and don鈥檛 let their teammates take days off.鈥�
Emily is signed to continue her career at Tennessee Tech in the fall, while Elyssa will continue at Illinois Wesleyan. They signed their national letters of intent together in a ceremony in November attended by the student body, family and friends.
鈥淪igning with Emily is my most memorable moment of us together,鈥� said Elyssa, who was also named all-state in basketball as a senior. 鈥淭hat was something I wanted us to be able to do together since we were little.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e both ready for the college level,鈥� Schade said. 鈥淓ven as freshmen, they were probably the two best players we put on the field, and they had high expectations of playing varsity softball.鈥�
Schade said they understood their roles then and have continually stepped into leadership roles as they matured, including serving as team captains the last two seasons.
The leadership is evident by the sounds coming from the dugout when the Saints play.
鈥淭here鈥檚 never a time of quiet in our dugout,鈥� Elyssa said. 鈥淥ne of us is always talking.鈥�
鈥淚 like to talk; it鈥檚 natural for me to lead that way,鈥� Emily said. 鈥淚t actually helps me focus on the game more, and it鈥檚 something you can always control because it鈥檚 not hard to cheer for your teammates.鈥�
Just as their personalities differ, so do their leadership styles.
鈥淚鈥檓 just brutally honest,鈥� Emily says. 鈥淓lyssa will sugar-coat it a little more.鈥�
Elyssa offers no argument to that assessment.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 fair,鈥� Elyssa said. 鈥淚 had to learn to step into a leadership role and come out of my shell because I felt like I was following in my sister鈥檚 footsteps.鈥�
Elyssa鈥檚 sister, Kayla, was also a four-year starter at catcher for the Saints. That has given Schade the luxury of having two starting catchers over the last eight years at Central Catholic.
鈥淚f you can pitch it and catch it, you鈥檙e going to have a chance to win a lot of ballgames,鈥� Schade said. 鈥淵ou almost take it for granted that it鈥檚 been eight years that I haven鈥檛 had to worry about who is catching.鈥�
It鈥檚 a similar story for assistant coach Cory Wait, who coached Emily and Elyssa at Corpus Christi Junior High School.
鈥淚t has been awesome to have the consistency like we鈥檝e had, especially at small schools like ours,鈥� Wait said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been nice to have those two spots locked down; you know York is pitching and Stenger is catching.鈥�
The dynamic duo will have their run come to an end when their postseason concludes. They will have the opportunity to play together one more time in the Bloomington Normal Girls Softball Association All-Star Game at Champion Fields on June 12.
Both players will play a summer schedule with their travel teams and then make their ways to their new college campuses.
鈥淚t will definitely be tough,鈥� Emily said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be 7 hours away, so more of a phone call to reconnect instead of being by each other sides.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we鈥檝e talked about,鈥� Elyssa said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 a little sad to think about. But we鈥檝e got a bond that will always be there.鈥�
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