SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: In the Inaugural opening game of the WPBL, Robin Roberts Stadium was a field of dreams – literally. After a 70-year-drought, on an ironically rainy day, a new breed of professional womens baseball players took the field in front of a sellout crowd. They were tatted. Eye blacked. And blinged.
Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” emanated from the powerful PA system as players paid homage to their legendary predecessor, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Maybelle Blair.
How apropos that the former pitcher for the AAGPBL threw out one of three first pitches and that her likeness has become the inspiration for the mascot of the new league.
Through intermittent periods of rain, it was a nail biter at the bitter end, and historical firsts abounded.
Mo’ne Davis reached the first base on a ball bobbled on the first error, by Val Perez. Ashton Lansdell drew the first walk, Sarah Edwards gifted Rakyung Kim her first “K,” and Maggie Foxx was at the plate for the first wild pitch. After the first steal, that was a double one, Foxx launched a two-run single for the first hit resulting in the first run. And Denae Benites, the captain of her team, crushed the first home run. Benites had a banner day going 4-4 with three swiped bases.
The Queens took a short lived 2-0 lead in the top of the first, and in the bottom frame, the Heights hit back-to-back to back-to-back to back to go ahead 5-2. Sato had a couple of nice curves, but the Japanese right hander’s signature fastball was not, and failed to land in her favor.
After NY tacked on two more runs to take a commanding 7-2 lead in the bottom of the second, LA refused to quit and got a pair back off Kim in the top of the fourth from Amira Hondras’ double to deep right.
Benites’ solo shot made it a four run lead, but the Queens came within reach in the top of the sixth after Alyssa Zettlemoyer couldn’t contain Foxx’s infield wind swept pop up at third and Roche’s clutch two bagger, followed by Hondras’ second RBI double of the game.
With NY in the driver’s seat 8-6, heading into the seventh, Meggie Meidlinger, arrived in relief to keep NY at bay, leaving the door open for LA to take a few more come-from-behind swings.
In the top of the final frame, Roche had a fortuitous single that dropped into right center out of Natsuki Yonetani’s reach. Hondras, on a run scoring roll, crushed a base hit to center to knot it up at eight, and then Isabella Villarreal, who was just called up, hit the clutchiest pinch hit two run double for a 10-8 Queens lead and Meidlinger, who moonlights as an architect, couldn’t have come up with a better floor plan, retiring the side in order, with the help of some dazzling defense by Lansdell.
It rained. It poured. And there was a bit of a delay – but nothing could put a damper on this historical party. The first 1000 fans went home with a Mo’ne Davis Bobblehead, and everyone left the ballpark brimming with bragging rights for being at the WPBL’s Inaugural Opening Day Game.