The Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) made its long-awaited return Saturday night at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, with the Los Angeles Queens defeating the New York Heights 10-8 in a rain-soaked debut.
The game, which featured Mo’ne Davis and the Queens against Denae Benites and the Heights, was the first professional women's baseball contest in the U.S. in nearly three decades. Fans, undeterred by steady rain, began lining up hours before the first pitch, with attendance exceeding 4,000.
Maggie Foxx drove in the league's first hit with a two-run single for Los Angeles in the first inning. Benites responded with the WPBL's first home run, a two-run blast in the fourth. The Queens ultimately rallied from an 8-4 deficit, scoring four runs in the final inning to secure the victory.
"When I walked on the field I started crying because of how much this moment meant, and how much it meant to everybody," said Foxx. "It means everything to us."
The league aims to provide new opportunities for women in baseball, a sentiment echoed by players and attendees. "Growing up I played softball," said Rachel Koehler, a player for the Heights. "I wanted to play baseball because going professional was always like the dream, but there (were) no opportunities. ... So now that that’s actually an opportunity and something that girls can look up to I think is amazing."
Many fans expressed excitement about seeing female professional athletes. "Having a daughter, it’s really exciting to give her exposure to female professional athletes," said Antonietta Mabry, who attended with her husband and 9-year-old daughter, Rosalee. "It’s such a rare thing, so it’s really cool to give her some really positive female role models and examples."
The WPBL also paid tribute to the history of women's baseball. Ninety-nine-year-old Maybelle Blair, a former player from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which inspired the movie "A League of Their Own," threw a ceremonial first pitch. Blair serves on the WPBL advisory board.
"Maybelle’s been sticking with us since the beginning of this journey. She’s paved a path for us, really," said Heights' pitcher Denae Benites. "She’s a special person and I’m so happy that she got to make it out here and do that today."
Sarah Hodel, an athletic trainer from Minnesota who has followed women in baseball since high school, called the debut "everything." "As soon as I saw this happening a couple years ago it was my goal to come."
The league's other two teams, the Firebells and Boston Hunters, are scheduled to play on Sunday. Players from these teams assisted the grounds crew in preparing the field after the rain subsided.
The inaugural season aims to build on the legacy of leagues like the AAGPBL, offering a professional platform for female baseball players and inspiring future generations.