First Female D1 Baseball Player

Frisbetarian

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 3, 2003
5,261
Off the beaten track
Olivia Pichardo made history as the first woman named to a Division 1 baseball team at Brown University. Link

From Baseball for All:

“BREAKING: @_oliviapichardo just became the first woman in baseball history to make the roster for a D1 baseball program in the US

This Fall, Olivia Pichardo, a freshman at Brown University, tried out as a walk-on for the Bears’ D1 Varsity baseball program, making the team’s roster for the 2023 season.

“Every fall, we hold tryouts for students interested in joining our team,” said Grant Achilles, the head baseball coach at Brown in a recent interview. “It’s a workout common for baseball and allows us to evaluate athleticism and arm strength, as well as both offensive and defensive skills. Olivia put together the most complete walk-on tryout I have seen from a player since becoming a head coach.”

She is one of 31 players to make the roster for this upcoming season, where she’ll serve as a utility player in the infield and outfield.

HUGE congrats to this BFA alum and one of the hardest working ballplayers we know. This is just the beginning and we know big things are in store for you #shesup #futureofbaseball”

I spent some time on her website where you can link to her past game highlights. She’s an impressive young woman.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,755
Pittsburgh, PA
Cool! Any relation to former Red Sox reliever Hipólito Pichardo? Her website makes no mention of it, but I assume it wouldn't in either case.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
I know Grant Achilles. Great, great guy. Standup guy. If he thinks that highly of Pichardo, then I'm sure she's all that and then some. He would never do this (not that anyone here is suggesting otherwise, but I'm sure out there somewhere, someone is thinking it) as any sort of stunt. She must be the real deal, and it'll be super cool to see how she does. Congrats to Olivia!
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

Red-headed Skrub child
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
8,252
Seacoast NH
That's awesome. One of the videos made mention of others counting down the days until she switched to softball which I'm sure is the case for many in her shoes. It's just expected that men play baseball, women play softball. It takes some resolve from both the parents and the kid to buck that trend.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,090
She has a really nice swing. Not sure about the arm velocity as a pitcher but her off speed stuff had nice movement from what I could tell.

Always respect the trailblazers in sports. My brother’s 6th grade CYO team had a girl on it and the opposing team would always make sexist comments and laugh at her…before they realized out that she was literally the 2nd best player on the team. She crossed over so many kids Iverson style. It was great.

She ended up playing D1 hoops.
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,852
Mtigawi
We have a lot of girls in our little league and I hope they don't give up and start playing shitty softball. There are 2 or 3 who are actually exceptional.
 

Just a bit outside

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 6, 2011
7,928
Monument, CO
She has a really nice swing. Not sure about the arm velocity as a pitcher but her off speed stuff had nice movement from what I could tell.

Always respect the trailblazers in sports. My brother’s 6th grade CYO team had a girl on it and the opposing team would always make sexist comments and laugh at her…before they realized out that she was literally the 2nd best player on the team. She crossed over so many kids Iverson style. It was great.

She ended up playing D1 hoops.
If you click on the link it says she sits 78-81 and tops out at 83 as a pitcher. Slow for today’s game, most righties are 85+ in college these days, but definitely could have pitched 30 years ago when I was playing college ball.