Sarah Hodel and Rachel Koehler arrived at Robin Roberts Stadium more than four hours before the first game of the Women’s Professional Baseball League. Once inside, Hodel stopped periodically for pictures as she walked along the concourse.

She wanted to savor every moment. “Back in high school I was on my speech team and my informative speech was on women in baseball,” said Hodel, a 43-year-old athletic trainer from Duluth, Minnesota. “So as soon as I saw this happening a couple years ago it was my goal to come.”

Game Details

Maggie Foxx picked up the league’s first hit on a two-run single for Los Angeles in the first inning. Benites connected for the WPBL’s first homer, a two-run drive to center in the bottom of the fourth.

The Queens trailed 8-4 before scoring two runs in the sixth and four more in the final frame of the seven-inning contest. A steady rain fell for much of the day, soaking the 101-year-old home of the WPBL’s inaugural season.

“Having a daughter, it’s really exciting to give her exposure to female professional athletes,” said Antonietta Mabry, 47, an accountant from Columbus, Ohio. “It’s such a rare thing, so it’s really cool to give her some really positive female role models and examples.”

The WPBL paid tribute to the past, present and future of women’s baseball during a rain-delayed pregame ceremony. The crowd cheered as the lineups for the Queens and Heights were announced.

The biggest ovation of the night was for 99-year-old Maybelle Blair, who threw a ceremonial first pitch to San Francisco’s Kelsie Whitmore, one of the biggest stars of the WPBL.

Original reporting: KSAT Sports (San Antonio) — read the source article.