Throw like a girl? You wish! These players are thriving in a league of their own
Girls' baseball is on an upward curve
The sun is up, the sky is cloudless and a baseball pitch in the Airport Heights neighbourhood of St. John's is filled with enthusiastic athletes.
They're young: the oldest is just 14.
Another key point: they're all girls.
Their teams, the Rangers and the Tigers, are battling it out in just the second official game of a new league just for girls.
Aptly named A League of Their Own — inspired by the classic 1992 comedy starring Geena Davis and Madonna — the league consists of four teams with 14 players each.
Together, those players, some as young as 10, are making some history as the largest ever all-female minor baseball league in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"I play a lot of sports, but it's one of my top favourites to play," said pitcher Meredith Jones, before taking her place on the mound for the Rangers.
Jones is just 13, but don't let her youth fool you. She's been playing baseball for about 10 years.
Inspired by national success
Interest in baseball among girls has grown exponentially in the last few years, with Newfoundlanders like Heather Healey attaining national attention for her role in Canada winning silver at the Women's Baseball World Cup in 2016.
Mark Healey, a director at large of the St. John's Minor Baseball Association, marvels at the speed at which the sport has been growing.
"Baseball Canada has put a real focus on girl's baseball, so the last couple years you'll see the numbers have grown tremendously in girl's baseball," said Healey, who also coaches one of the teams, the Nationals.
"This year, we have over 120 girls registered just in St. John's minor alone. I would say we're pushing probably four or five hundred across the province right now from all associations."
Ella Foote-Croft, 10, who plays with the Tigers, has only been playing baseball for about a year but has been pleased to find she has a talent for it. Her father inspired her to pick up the sport.
"He's been playing for a while now, a long, long time. He's been playing since he was my age," Foote-Croft said emphatically.
"I just figured I'd give it a try and see if I liked it. I like it. It's really fun."
Ed Flynn, who has been involved with minor league baseball in the past as a coach, is now happy to be a spectator. He joined many other parents on a hot day, while rooting for his daughter Lauren.
"As a Red Sox fan that's often hard for me to do," Flynn joked when asked if he was rooting for her team, the Tigers, who won the game 3-1.
"But to see these girls playing, most of who I've coached over the years at a couple of levels, it's just great to see them participate."
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