Following the success of the film, "A League of Their Own," women hardball players over the past two decades have rallied all over the country to put together leagues of their own. They did so with varying degrees of success.
Bellevue resident Jeneane Lesko, who was one of the original players in The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, is again summoning the troops and has created eight Western Washington women's baseball teams for women age 14 to 55 and up.
Anyone interested can go to the Web site and register for their area team: www.wwba-baseball.org. The teams include: Eastside Ravens, Everett Eagles, Kent Kingfishers, Lynnwood Larkspurs, Puyallup Peacocks, Seattle Sandpipers, Olympia Roadrunners, Tacoma Tanagers. League play is from June 5 to Aug. 21 with between 10 and 14 games and a tentative end-of-season tournament.
Practices
Practices are for both newcomers as well as seasoned players. Fields will be set up for alternate Sundays from April 10 through May 29. Dates, times and locations will be posted in the events section of the Web site. Practices are voluntary and are provided to give an opportunity to have a little "spring training" prior to season league play.
Season play
Most game are tentatively scheduled for Sunday afternoons. League schedules will be posted on the website when finalized. Due to the limitations of fields in some cities, the home field might be located in a neighboring city. There will often be back-to-back games played at the same field by different teams.
This year, there will be only one game played per team each week except during the end of season tournament. There will be a field available for a team or combination of teams to practice on Wednesday evenings during the season. Attendance at these practices or scheduling of practices is strictly optional for each team to consider. Teams will be given further details at a later date. Alternative weekdays for practices have not been requested, but may be available.
Post season play
Try outs will follow the summer season for those who can and would like to play tournament baseball in the fall. As many as 30 players will be chosen for two teams. There will be a first team and a secondary backup team.
When a tournament is scheduled, if a first team player is unable to attend for any reason, the second team player will automatically be in line to go to the tournament. Planned events are the California Classic and the Florida Open or Disneyland Tournament. Others may be added depending on funds available for travel.
For more information, e-mail Jeneane Lesko at jlesko@wwba-baseball.org.
[[In-content Ad]]
