Shannon Becker, a New York high school softball pitcher, struck out all 21 batters she faced for an extra-perfect game.

Even more astounding is the fact that this was only two days removed from a one-hit game where she struck out 20 batters. As of Thursday, her consecutive strikeout streak was at 38, and if she keeps up her current pace, she’ll break the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s record for strikeouts in a season (411) set in 2006.

DeadSpin.com

I guess softball suffers from the same strikeout paradox as baseball.

When I was very young, I thought that a no-hitter was a game in which all the batters struck out. After all, if someone didn’t strike out, they did manage to “hit” the ball. Later in life, I found that this was a common misconception among people new to the game. It takes a little experience to understand the difference between hitting the ball and earning a base hit.

Thanks to Devon Young for the link.

Via BBTF, women are succeeding in a men’s independent league:

Whitmore and Piagno both contributed to the Stompers’ success on the field, Whitmore with a key hit against San Rafael and Piagno by adding much-needed bull-pen depth. “I think I did well for my first time playing pro ball,” Whitmore said. “But there’s always more to work on and get better.” She then switched to her favorite topic: opportunity. “I’m very thankful for Francis Ford Coppola,” she said. “Without him thinking of putting women in baseball, none of this would have happened.”

Neither player was there on Saturday to join the pile on the pitching mound, because both had returned to the U.S. Team in mid-August in preparation for the Women’s World Cup, in South Korea. Piagno will be substitute-teaching in St. Augustine in the fall; Whitmore will be heading to Cal State Fullerton on a softball scholarship, and will work out with the baseball team. Both women plan to keep playing baseball at the highest possible level. Scott Whitmore has no doubt about his daughter’s goal. “I guarantee you, Kelsie would love to play major-league baseball.”

Fox will air a fictional series about the first female players in the major leagues. I hope we see that sooner than later.

I received this press release today:

FILMMAKER AND FATHER OF THREE BASEBALL-PLAYING DAUGHTERS TO DIRECT “THE GIRLS OF SUMMER,” ABOUT THE WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO PLAY AMERICA’S PASTIME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, May 2016 – As a kid, Matthew Temple loved to play baseball. So when he had kids (all daughters) and shared his baseball stories, they wanted to play baseball, too. Yes, hardball. “Little did I know at that time that my daughters would always be the only girls on their teams, and often the only girls in their league,” Temple said. This led him down a rabbit hole of why girls so often don’t play, and the stories of those who do. As a filmmaker by trade, he’s now taking a camera down that rabbit hole.

This summer, women and girls from all over the United States will attend open tryouts for Team USA, in hopes to make the team that will travel to South Korea to play in the Women’s Baseball World Cup for a shot at the Gold Medal. Temple’s documentary team will follow these women from tryouts to the World Cup, as they hope to finally snatch the Gold from the perennial powerhouse, Japan.

He is also meeting with and interviewing girls and women who play, to explore their world in baseball, learn their stories, hear their voices perspectives from the highly competitive levels to the recreational levels, from youth baseball and high school to college. The players who persevered, the ones who decided not to push back against the status quo and move to softball or another sport completely, and others who came to baseball after playing softball. And of course, there are also the stories of the parents, coaches, and the boys who play with them, from the ones who welcome the girls to the ones who don’t.

“This is not a cause film,” says Temple, “it’s a human film, following the stories of the girls and women who play now, who want to play, and what they go through in order to play.” First and foremost, this is a film about the women and girls who play baseball, but he adds, “it is also, in part, a reflection of our society and our cultural relationship to gender, gender expectations, women in sports and the freedom to pursue dreams, hopes, and one’s own path regardless of gender.”

GIRLS OF SUMMER is on Facebook, (www.facebook.com/girlsofsummerdoc) where you can join the mailing list, follow the story, and view videos. They have just launched a crowd funding campaign (www.seedandspark.com/studio/girls-of-summer) and released a video (https://youtu.be/VDe3EAXnfa8). WeStrive, a California 501(c)3 non-profit is fiscal sponsor.

Sounds like an interesting project.

Justine Siegal teamed with LockerDome to create a social network for female ballplayers. From the press release:

Justine Siegal, the growing face of girls baseball, is at it again. Only months after becoming the first female in history to throw batting practice to a MLB team, Siegal is now extending her advocacy of girls baseball to the Internet by partnering with LockerDome to launch the Baseball For All Network.

The Baseball For All Network, which can be accessed at baseballforall.lockerdome.com, is the first sports network for girls baseball in the United States. Utilizing the LockerDome platform, Siegal intends to build girls baseball nationwide by connecting players, coaches, and parents.

There are tens of thousands of women playing baseball in the US, but they are spread out so much it becomes tough to find each other. Using the software, women and enter information about their baseball skills, and possibly form regional and national teams to showcase their abilities. It’s a good idea for drawing women who love the sport together.

A woman pitched for a Japanese professional team today, Friday.

Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, took the mound in the ninth inning of Kobe 9 Cruise’s 5-0 win over the Osaka Gold Villicanes in the newly-formed Kansai Independent League.

She walked the first batter leading off the inning on four pitches and allowed a stolen base before striking out the next batter swinging at Osaka Dome. She was then replaced after facing just two batters.

The 5-feet, 114-pound Yoshida is hoping to stick with the Kobe team. Friday’s performance was far from conclusive but at least she has the first strikeout of her career.

I’ve thought for a while that the path for women to professional baseball would be through the knuckleball. Glad to see that happened in Japan.

Here’s video of her pitching:

We’ve Got Heart continues their series on Women in Baseball with a profile of Tatiana Tchamouroff, massage therapist for the Washington Nationals. The players love her work:

Tatiana arrived to meet us a few minutes after the game started, just after her baseball duties were completed for the evening. Her twelve hour days start at 8:00 am in her Bethesda office, where she sees clients until noon before heading to the park. The players fight for spots on her schedule, especially after long road trips. They will bargain with each other for those open slots; others will just schedule a morning appointment at Tatiana’s Bethesda practice. “It’s pretty funny the arguments that take place outside the door with guys trying to get on the list. I mean, I do everything I can to see everybody.” They are fighting to see her because she’s one of the best.
She was widely credited for relieving Dmitri Young’s debilitating back pain in the early part of the ’08 season. She was an integral part of Cal Ripken Jr.’s rehab team, and the trusted personal massage therapist to Brady Anderson. Despite having dozens of professional athlete clients, it wasn’t until 2008 that Tatiana had her first real opportunity to work for a professional team, something she’s been dreaming about for a long time.

She’s led a very interesting life in addition to her work with athletes.