NABA Spring Training Experience - Day 2

What a great day of baseball! I was a little nervous taking the mound today, being my first men's tournament, but all went well. I pitched the entire 7-inning game (it was supposed to go 9, but they surrendered after 7), giving up 3 runs for a final score of 29-3! My team was awesome yet again! Inning after inning we'd score the 5-run limit (the rule for the tournament is a team can only score 5 runs per inning, then switch no matter how many outs there are). As the game went on I got more confident and relaxed and was able to pull off more 1,2,3 innings, with the help of my team of course.

After the game, we went to the Cubs vs. Padres Spring Training game and the Cubs won 5-2, so a great day of baseball overall! At the game, I heard that some players from the other team were talking smack when they found out that I, a girl, was going to be the starting pitcher. They were so frustrated when they couldn't hit off me. I also found out that I turned their pitcher's toe black & blue when I hit a hard grounder up the middle. I felt kinda bad about that one. Later on, players from the opposing team tried to recruit me for their teams in Indiana, so I guess I earned their respect after all :)

My team had my back the whole game. I feel extremely lucky that I was put on a team with such a great group of guys. The president of NABA came to the game to watch me pitch (the first-time a woman pitched in a NABA tournament). He stayed for the whole game and expressed how much he supports women in baseball. I think I made a lot of people aware that women can play baseball just as well as the guys, and that's a big step forward for the growth of women's baseball. Two more games left, stay tuned!