The number one ranger of the raccoons is taking over the second consecutive championship in the women’s Superpesis. Five years ago, he even thought of quitting because of an injury that required long rehabilitation.
12.5. 08:40 • Updated May 12th. 08:42
Emilia Eastern Light last season, he won the first Finnish baseball championship of his career, when the Pori Nest Bears celebrated the title of women’s Superpesis. Five spring ago, Itävalo might not have been able to predict that he would still be a champion.
The brightest moment of the baseball bend in East Light, 27, hit the spring of 2017, when his knee failed in a training situation.
– The puddle left the knee. The examinations revealed that the anterior cruciate ligament had been broken and the lateral ligament and articular helices were torn, Itävalo recalls in an interview with STT.
The injury knew the games of the season had been played. Eastern Light also had to wait a month before undergoing surgery.
– I rehabilitated my leg for four weeks to get it straight before surgery as it speeded recovery from surgery.
– The injury was a shock, which made me very apathetic. I also think about the end of my career several times, Itävalo says.
Of great importance for spiritual recovery was to be involved in the activities of the Raccoons, although there was no such thing as real action. Eastern light made us believe in a return.
Lightness of thought
A knee injury and recovery increased the mental resources of Itävalo. He also got a new perspective on baseball.
– I learned to enjoy the opportunity to play baseball even more. At the same time, a new kind of lightness came along, that is, I learned to deal with failures better.
Keeping the tooth eaten by the raccoons healthy is extremely important to the team. Muscle care and other body care measures play an important role.
– Through my injury, I learned to increase the amount of rest, listening to my own body, and muscle care. I feel like I am a different athlete in this respect than before the injury, Itävalo says.
– In our team, these things are in good hands, because there is a wide range of expertise. I get excellent instructions and advice when needed.
Brother after baseball field
Itävalo started his journey to the top of baseball at the age of six in Kankaanpää. The biggest inspiration was his two-year-old older brother Henri Itävalowho is playing this season in the Men ‘s Super Nests at Kankaanpää Racecourse.
– When he started playing baseball, I ran my own hand in the backyard. Of course, parents were also important motivators for the sport.
– We played a lot of yard games, and the lawn was often muddy. I also remember catching tennis balls hit by my brother with a tennis racket in my hand.
The innate enthusiasm for baseball is familiar to the Itävalo family, as Emilia’s uncle Pekka Itävalo as well as his son Jouni Itävalo remembered as multiple East-West gamblers.
– There have been several of us in the main series. However, Henri and I are only active players, says Emilia Itävalo.
The first guard promises to ventilate
In his career, the number one goalkeeper, who won four dimmer medals and was crowned the best baseball player in the nation in 2019, will add more bright metal in the season starting on Saturday.
– The championship is a goal, and I see no obstacle to its renewal. The worst opponents are Jyväskylän Kirittäret, Tampereen Manse PP and Lapuan Virkiä. Seinäjoki’s Maila-Jusse also has a good team.
When looking to the beginning of the season, Itävalo promises that the cheerful and flamboyant vents will continue.
– Ventilations are part of my game. The upcoming games still aren’t as exciting as my comeback after the injury. That’s when the first hit of the game came to me, and I managed to make a fire, Itävalo recalls with a smile.