Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're trying
Speaker 1: not to freak out that it's already August and summer
Speaker 1: is almost over. What do you mean school supplies? Get
Speaker 1: out of here, target, I'm still spritzing. It's Monday, August third,
Speaker 1: and on today's show, we're going to hear from four
Speaker 1: stars of the brand new Women's Professional Baseball League, Kelsey
Speaker 1: went Moore of the San Francisco fire Bells, Mone Davis
Speaker 1: of the Los Angeles Queens, Danee Benitez of the New
Speaker 1: York Heights, and Ali Schroeder of the Boston Hunters.
Speaker 2: I sat down with them.
Speaker 1: Before the first ever WPBL game in Springfield, Illinois on
Speaker 1: Saturday to talk about being first, living out a dream,
Speaker 1: trying to ensure that young girls will never hear the
Speaker 1: word impossible, and finding fun in the middle of nowhere, sorry,
Speaker 1: the middle of everything. Plus a plumb assignment that's why
Speaker 1: she's a Goat, and Hooper's on campus Unite. It's all
Speaker 1: coming up right after this Welcome back slices. Here's what
Speaker 1: you need to know today, starting with hoops. Sunday's WNBA
Speaker 1: trade deadline saw a few big names switching teams first.
Speaker 1: We got news Friday that the Toronto Tempo had acquired
Speaker 1: forward Anissa Morrow from the Connecticut Sun. Morrow, who was
Speaker 1: the number seven pick in the twenty twenty five draft,
Speaker 1: missed three weeks to a leg injury last month, but
Speaker 1: is coming off back to back twenty one point games
Speaker 1: since she returned. The Sun get a twenty twenty eight
Speaker 1: draft second round pick and the rights to Maria Masha
Speaker 1: Clandakova in the deal. Clandakova is a six four forward
Speaker 1: who's played three seasons off and on in the w
Speaker 1: since being drafted in twenty eighteen, most recently playing with
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Links last season. The New York Posts Matteline
Speaker 1: Kenny reported that the New York Liberty had also looked
Speaker 1: into trading formorrow, but it.
Speaker 2: Didn't come to fruition.
Speaker 1: On Sunday, the biggest trade went down with the La
Speaker 1: Sparks sending five time All Star Kelsey Plum to the
Speaker 1: Phoenix Mercury. According to ESPN, the Sparks get twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five WNBA All Rookie Team selection Monika Coha mccannie, plus
Speaker 1: a twenty two, twenty seven first round draft pick and
Speaker 1: a twenty twenty eight second round draft pick in the deal.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: Plumb arrived in La via a three team trade ahead
Speaker 1: of last season, and the Sparks stumbled to a twenty
Speaker 1: one and twenty three finish, missing the playoffs. Plumb started
Speaker 1: hot this year, but injuries have kept her out since June,
Speaker 1: and the Sparks have struggled again, firing GM Reagan Peebley
Speaker 1: on July twelfth and losing six in a row since. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the Mercury made the finals last year but lost more
Speaker 1: talent than they added in the off season, and they're
Speaker 1: disappointing this season as well, sitting at eleven and eighteen now.
Speaker 1: The Mercury better hope Plumb is interested in re upping
Speaker 1: with them beyond this half season rental, or this deal
Speaker 1: is going to look like a disaster, especially since the
Speaker 1: draft pick they're giving up next year will be no
Speaker 1: lower than number seven if they missed the playoffs as expected.
Speaker 1: Our friends over at No Offseason did an emergency podcast
Speaker 1: about this Kelsey Plum trade, with lots of conversation around
Speaker 1: the many tentacles involved, so go check it out if
Speaker 1: you want to hear more.
Speaker 2: More. W a lot of games over the weekend, but
Speaker 2: we wanted to call out a.
Speaker 1: Couple results that caught our eye, Starting with Friday night's
Speaker 1: game between the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics, an
Speaker 1: eighty one to seventy five Mystics win. This young DC
Speaker 1: team has been showing great progress as the season goes on,
Speaker 1: and they now own a four game win streak for
Speaker 1: the first time since September of twenty twenty. Now, if
Speaker 1: you don't follow them already on social you're missing out
Speaker 1: on so much postgame joy from coach Sidney Johnson and
Speaker 1: his locker room antics and celebrations. Speaking of teams showing progress,
Speaker 1: a big couple days for the Chicago Sky. First, the
Speaker 1: team enjoyed the season debut of DJ Carrington on Thursday
Speaker 1: night in a ninety four eighty eight win over the Sun.
Speaker 1: Carrington joined the skyvia free agency this past offseason, but
Speaker 1: she had to sit out the first twenty seven games
Speaker 1: of the season recovering from a sprained foot. Nice to
Speaker 1: see her back on the court. On Saturday, the Sky
Speaker 1: continued their winning ways as stand out undrafted rookie Sidney
Speaker 1: Taylor had twenty nine points, including a three pointer with
Speaker 1: less than a second remaining for the Sky to upset
Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Aces eighty four eighty three. We were
Speaker 1: also watching a lot of Indiana Fever Act this weekend.
Speaker 1: On Friday, the Fever took down the Portland Fire one
Speaker 1: twelve ninety eight behind twenty six points, ten rebounds, and
Speaker 1: ten assists from Caitlin Clark. Kelsey Mitchell added twenty six
Speaker 1: points and Eliah Boston had fourteen points and nine rebounds
Speaker 1: in that one. But Sunday saw the end of the
Speaker 1: Fever's five game win streak as they fell to the
Speaker 1: Minnesota Links one oh eight one hundred. Kelsey Mitchell had
Speaker 1: thirty seven points in the loss, just one fewer than
Speaker 1: her career high. Meantime, Olivia Miles and Courtney Williams led
Speaker 1: the Links in the wind with twenty eight and twenty
Speaker 1: seven points respectively. Speaking of Sunday's Fever Links game, it
Speaker 1: was the third straight Fever contest that drew a rally
Speaker 1: beforehand as a result of Sophie Cunningham's recent comments advocating
Speaker 1: for the exclusion of trans athletes and girls and women's sports.
Speaker 1: Minnesota head coach and friend of the Show, Cheryl Reeves
Speaker 1: showed up to that game in a shirt that read
Speaker 1: trans Kids Belong. ESPN showed footage of Reeve and Sophie
Speaker 1: Cunningham speaking at center court pregame, and Reeve was asked
Speaker 1: about the chit chat after the game and mostly just
Speaker 1: stated that it was good and useful to talk in person,
Speaker 1: and that even though they might not share the same
Speaker 1: opinion on everything, it's important that they both be thoughtful
Speaker 1: about how they use their platform. Earlier this weekend, Reeve
Speaker 1: reiterated her support for transgender athletes in a media session.
Speaker 1: Take a listen.
Speaker 3: Everyone has a right to peacefully assembly right. That's whether
Speaker 3: you agree with them or not, It doesn't matter, you know,
Speaker 3: in terms of you know, my views come from a
Speaker 3: space of inclusion. And the narrative that I think that
Speaker 3: is problematic is to suggest that number one, that transgender
Speaker 3: athletes are the biggest problem in women's sports. And I
Speaker 3: think this is what's bothersome is that there's a faction
Speaker 3: of people in our country that are making this a
Speaker 3: massive issue.
Speaker 4: We have some issues.
Speaker 3: Number one, we need to protect trans kids. What gets
Speaker 3: nuanced is, you know, when you're beyond puberty, when you're
Speaker 3: an Olympic sport, when you're we have scholars and that
Speaker 3: sort of thing. That's where I say that common sense
Speaker 3: people get together and you find common ground to find
Speaker 3: a way to be inclusive. The answer isn't no.
Speaker 1: You can always count on Cheryl Reeve to show up
Speaker 1: when it counts. We don't have time to play all
Speaker 1: her comments from that media session, but they're worth a listen.
Speaker 1: We'll link to the full video in the show notes.
Speaker 1: Oh In one more WNBA note, Michelle Onya has signed
Speaker 1: a developmental player contract with the Fever, becoming the first
Speaker 1: player from the Upshot League's inaugural season to earn a
Speaker 1: WNBA opportunity. On Youa played for the Charlotte Crown, averaging
Speaker 1: over nine points and nearly seven rebounds in her twenty
Speaker 1: one games with Charlotte. To College Hoops, more than one
Speaker 1: hundred women's college basketball players have joined a unionization campaign
Speaker 1: with the United College Athletes Association, marking a historic push
Speaker 1: to unionize and be recognized as employees. Former NCAA track
Speaker 1: athlete Andrew Cooper started UCAA in twenty twenty one as
Speaker 1: a nonprofit advocacy group, and in announcing this new move
Speaker 1: on Friday, a statement on the UCAA website read, in
Speaker 1: part quote, we need the same structure that grants pros
Speaker 1: the right to negotiate the conditions of their careers a
Speaker 1: collective bargaining agreement end quote. This group marks the largest
Speaker 1: group of college athletes to formally push to collectively bargain
Speaker 1: with their schools. The NCAA has, of course, long opposed
Speaker 1: the idea of athletes being deemed employees, saying they view
Speaker 1: college sports as an extracurricular activity that's part of.
Speaker 2: An athlete's education.
Speaker 1: We'll keep you posted on how this latest effort plays
Speaker 1: out to baseball Women's Professional Baseball and the inaugural game
Speaker 1: of the new WPBL, The Los Angeles Queens defeated the
Speaker 1: New York Heights ten to eight on Saturday in Springfield,
Speaker 1: Illinois to claim the league's first dub. LA scored two
Speaker 1: runs in the sixth inning and four runs in the
Speaker 1: seventh and final inning to secure the comeback win. Queen's
Speaker 1: outfielder Monet Davis, who you'll hear from in just a minute,
Speaker 1: scored the league's first ever run on a Maggie Fox hit,
Speaker 1: while Heights catcher Dne Benitez, who you'll also hear from,
Speaker 1: hit the first home run in league history, part of
Speaker 1: a four for four night for Benitez in her team's
Speaker 1: losing effort. To Athletes Unlimited, coming off as successful second
Speaker 1: season of their new pro softball league, the AUSL, Athletes
Speaker 1: Unlimited has announced their pausing AU Pro Volleyball for the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty sixth season and AU Pro Basketball for the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seventh season. In a statement, the org said
Speaker 1: it would quote thoughtfully reimagine the future of those properties
Speaker 1: to reflect the continued growth and evolution of both sports
Speaker 1: end quote. To golf, Japan Shiho Kawak won the AIG
Speaker 1: Women's Open in England on Sunday, her first ever major title.
Speaker 1: To earn the victory, Kwaky had to beat Germany's Ester
Speaker 1: Henselight in a sudden death playoff, sealing the deal with
Speaker 1: a par on the second extra hole. US pro Nelly
Speaker 1: Korda and Thailand's Gino Titskun were two of the favorites
Speaker 1: going into the tournament. They ended the weekend tied for fourth.
Speaker 1: To soccer, an update on Gotham FC and US women's
Speaker 1: national team star Emily's Sonnet. Gotham announced Friday that the
Speaker 1: surgery Sonnet underwent last week was for a ruptured pateller
Speaker 1: tendon in her left knee and that she'll miss the
Speaker 1: remainder of the NWSL season. No timetable for return was given,
Speaker 1: but this kind of injury could very well affect the
Speaker 1: thirty two year old defenders availability for the World Cup
Speaker 1: next summer. We have no doubt that Sonnet, who has
Speaker 1: one hundred and eighteen caps with the national team, will
Speaker 1: do everything in her power to be ready for Brazil.
Speaker 1: More NWSL Friday saw a hat trick from North Carolina
Speaker 1: Courage forward Evelyn Ej in a five tozier route of
Speaker 1: the Orlando Pride. That's seven goals in eight games for
Speaker 1: the Swedish standout Ej and the first Swedish hat trick
Speaker 1: in NWSL history. Saturday's game between Seattle RAINFC and BFC
Speaker 1: was a spicy one with a lot of early action. First,
Speaker 1: in the fifth minute, me Official found the back of
Speaker 1: the net for Seattle, followed by another rain goal in
Speaker 1: the tenth minute, this one from Matti Dollen. BFC answered
Speaker 1: with a goal by Hannah Bbar just three minutes later,
Speaker 1: and then in the seventy fifth minute, BFC's Kira Berry
Speaker 1: scored to tie the game to too but it wasn't over.
Speaker 1: Dag veteran Jess Fishlock came in as a late substitute
Speaker 1: and sealed the deal for Seattle, striking and scoring just
Speaker 1: a minute after she subbed in, marking Seattle's first ever
Speaker 1: victory against the Bay Area team. The winning goal also
Speaker 1: marked Fishlock's fiftieth career NWSL regular season tally and achievement
Speaker 1: only nine other players in league history have accomplished. It's
Speaker 1: so great to see Fishlock thriving after that terrible early
Speaker 1: season injury we thought might end her final season prematurely.
Speaker 1: Also on Saturday, the Kansas City Current hide Angel City
Speaker 1: FC one to one, and Sam Kerr scored the lone
Speaker 1: goal in Gotham's one nail.
Speaker 2: Win over the Houston Dash.
Speaker 1: We're recording this before Sunday evenings kickoff, so we'll put
Speaker 1: a link to the results in the show notes. Finally
Speaker 1: to cycling, the Tour de France fem of x Swift
Speaker 1: got underway over the weekend and so far one cyclist
Speaker 1: is leading the pack. Lorena Webis from the Netherlands, won
Speaker 1: the first stage of the race on Saturday with a
Speaker 1: dominant sprint on an uphill finish in las En. Then
Speaker 1: On Sunday, she did it again with a sprint win
Speaker 1: in Stage two in Geneva to extend her overall lead.
Speaker 1: On Monday, Webis and the other cyclists, we'll be back
Speaker 1: on the bike with Stage three taking the peloton across
Speaker 1: the Swiss border into France. We'll keep you posted as
Speaker 1: they make their way south to Nice throughout the week. Okay,
Speaker 1: slices before we get to my interview at the wpbl
Speaker 1: stars a moment to recognize what was truly a magical
Speaker 1: event down in Springfield for opening Day. Now, the weather
Speaker 1: didn't cooperate. There was rain off and on the entire morning, afternoon,
Speaker 1: and evening, but it didn't keep the fans away. A
Speaker 1: sold out crowd waited in line to get into Robin
Speaker 1: Roberts Stadium, to buy oodles of merch, and to patiently
Speaker 1: endure an hour plus rain delay before the powerful opening
Speaker 1: ceremony finally began. Fans of all ages, including a mom
Speaker 1: and toddler in matching Rockford Peaches dresses, witnessed. Members of
Speaker 1: the All American Girls Professional Baseball League passed the torch
Speaker 1: to a new era of players. Ninety nine year old
Speaker 1: legend Maybel Blair told me she was surprised but thrilled
Speaker 1: to be quote on the right side of the dirt
Speaker 1: when this day finally came. It's been seventy plus years
Speaker 1: since the women, made famous by a league of their own,
Speaker 1: last took the field, and thirty years since the short
Speaker 1: lived Ladies Professional Baseball League, which played in nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: seven and part of ninety eight before folding on Saturday.
Speaker 1: The rain ended up competing with tears from players, fans,
Speaker 1: and WPBL officials and stakeholders who fought to make this
Speaker 1: day happen. You can check out a bunch of photos
Speaker 1: and videos from the day and the game on my Instagram.
Speaker 1: It's linked in the show notes. Now, before the stands
Speaker 1: filled up with fans and the action began, I sat
Speaker 1: down with four players, one from each of the league's
Speaker 1: four inaugural teams. You'll hear a few sounds from the
Speaker 1: ballpark during the interview, also a train that goes by,
Speaker 1: and maybe occasionally the drip, drip drip of the rain
Speaker 1: that tried to spoil the day but didn't. When we
Speaker 1: come back, you'll hear that great convo with Monette, Dney
Speaker 1: Ali and Kelsey stick Here. All right, let's produce the incredible, amazing,
Speaker 1: groundbreaking women that are here.
Speaker 2: With me today.
Speaker 1: A pitcher for the San Francisco fire Bells who also
Speaker 1: plays for the US national baseball team and the Savannah Bananas.
Speaker 2: First overall pick in.
Speaker 1: The WPBL Draft, she played college softball for cal State
Speaker 1: Fullerton Baseball professionally for multiple teams, and was the first
Speaker 1: woman to appear in the starting lineup in an Atlantic
Speaker 1: League game.
Speaker 2: It's Kelsey Wentmore also joining me.
Speaker 1: She's an outfielder for the Los Angeles Queens who also
Speaker 1: plays for the Indianapolis Clowns. She became famous worldwide as
Speaker 1: one of two girls who played in the twenty fourteen
Speaker 1: Little League World Series and the first girl to earn
Speaker 1: a win and throw a shutout in the Little League
Speaker 1: World Series history, earning a spot on the cover of
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated magazine. Went on to play softball at Hampton University.
Speaker 1: It's Monete Davis also with me, catcher for the New
Speaker 1: York Heights, who also plays for the Loco Beach Coconuts.
Speaker 1: A four time USA Baseball Women's national team athlete, she
Speaker 1: was the only girl to play varsity baseball in Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: and in her free time she's an EMT and a
Speaker 1: volunteer firefighter. It's Dane Benitez.
Speaker 2: Did people ever call you Danita Banita?
Speaker 1: Because that's what I'm going to call you. Danita Beanita
Speaker 1: is what I'm going with. Finally, she's a pitcher for
Speaker 1: the Boston Hunters who also plays for the Canada national
Speaker 1: baseball team. She played her college ball at Vancouver Island University,
Speaker 1: becoming the first female player in the Canadian College Baseball Conference.
Speaker 1: A firefighter with the BC Wildfire Service, It's Ali Schroeder.
Speaker 2: Happy opening Day.
Speaker 1: Today, we're gonna get La versus New York. Tomorrow we're
Speaker 1: getting Boston versus San Francisco. And since we're here in Springfield, Illinois,
Speaker 1: I'm going to start with a question in honor of
Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. Have you guys seen any
Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln's around here?
Speaker 2: Yet?
Speaker 5: There is one in our hotel. There's like a cutout. Okay,
Speaker 5: that's it.
Speaker 1: I've started an honest ape. Count demm at two so far.
Speaker 1: So this game is called honest ape. So you must
Speaker 1: be honest. You can answer one of two questions. What's
Speaker 1: your most embarrassing habit or something about you that most people, even.
Speaker 2: A lot of your friends, don't know.
Speaker 6: Kelsey, I'm gonna need them to go first, because I
Speaker 6: actually think about this.
Speaker 2: Well, now you've got some embarrassing habits.
Speaker 4: I'm an iPad kid.
Speaker 5: I cannot like I have to when I'm eating, I
Speaker 5: have to watch something on my laptop or my iPad.
Speaker 4: I like it's it's just mandatory.
Speaker 5: No conversation or no, no no, and then I get
Speaker 5: upset if people actually try to talk to me when
Speaker 5: I'm doing it.
Speaker 4: That's like my like lock in time.
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for fulfilling every stereotype we old have
Speaker 1: about you.
Speaker 2: Guys.
Speaker 7: Allie, I'm gonna go with something my friends, specifically my
Speaker 7: friends here don't really know about me.
Speaker 2: I have a twin.
Speaker 7: Sister, also an athlete, firefighter, no a dancer, but polar
Speaker 7: opposite to me.
Speaker 2: Okay, cool, Anita, Benita.
Speaker 8: Let's go with an embarrassing habit.
Speaker 9: I think my favorite thing to do before I go
Speaker 9: to sleep is shove my face with any food I
Speaker 9: can find.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just that's definitely.
Speaker 1: Right before bed me Faceah, perfect, all right, Kelsey, mine's
Speaker 1: kind of similar to that.
Speaker 6: My favorite like late night snack I had some of
Speaker 6: it last night is just like demolishing in jar pickles.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I don't know any in combining with talkies.
Speaker 6: Sip the pickle juice, eat the pickle, Eat the talkie,
Speaker 6: back to the pickle juice.
Speaker 2: You guys are so good just treating your bodies like shrines.
Speaker 2: Didn't want of y'all play for the Portland pickles for
Speaker 2: a little Yeah I did. Okay, they pickle brained you.
Speaker 1: Now, Okay, I want to get to the emotions of today,
Speaker 1: because you guys are so young that I don't even
Speaker 1: know if you did. You all watch a league of
Speaker 1: their own at some point just because you're baseball players.
Speaker 1: But like I grew up and that was such an
Speaker 1: emotional movie for me to watch, And then the older
Speaker 1: I got, the more it meant to me to watch
Speaker 1: it and really understand what those women have done.
Speaker 2: And now, seventy plus years later, you get to do
Speaker 2: that for the next.
Speaker 1: Generation of people and start something that hopefully will go
Speaker 1: on forever and it will just be normal for us
Speaker 1: to see women playing professional baseball. So, Kelsey, what are
Speaker 1: some of the emotions that today's finally here?
Speaker 6: Honestly, when I pulled up and I saw a whole
Speaker 6: line of people waiting. I told my parents. I was like,
Speaker 6: oh my gosh, I'm getting, like getting it a little
Speaker 6: emotional right now just seeing this, Like see people show
Speaker 6: up not just for the hype of it, but like
Speaker 6: show up because they really believe in something and they
Speaker 6: see the future of it and they see the potential
Speaker 6: that it has and they're excited. And so that was
Speaker 6: definitely a piece of emotion that I had. And I
Speaker 6: was telling my dad too in the car. I was like,
Speaker 6: this doesn't feel real, Like this doesn't he goes, I know,
Speaker 6: it just feels so surreal, like it's just like it
Speaker 6: doesn't feel like this is actually happening right now, because
Speaker 6: like we never thought that this would actually happen, while
Speaker 6: at least I'm lucky enough to still be playing. So yeah,
Speaker 6: definitely a lot of emotions going on. Super excited for it.
Speaker 9: Tanita, Benita, you brought up the movie, and I think
Speaker 9: watching that as a young kid, it gives you a
Speaker 9: little bit of hope because as a girl playing baseball,
Speaker 9: like you.
Speaker 8: Don't see other women playing baseball at such a young.
Speaker 9: Age, So like that movie definitely gave us hope of like, hey,
Speaker 9: maybe that could be me one day, Like you just
Speaker 9: never know where this journey's gonna take you, but it
Speaker 9: just gives you that little bit of extra push. And
Speaker 9: like sitting here today in front of all of you
Speaker 9: guys that showed up for us and all the fans outside,
Speaker 9: like Kelsey said, it's surreal, Like it doesn't. I don't
Speaker 9: think it's hit any of us yet until we're on
Speaker 9: the line ready to play the game. But I'm just
Speaker 9: super grateful excited to continue to impact and inspire and
Speaker 9: create those opportunities for little girls that want to follow
Speaker 9: their dreams as well.
Speaker 2: What about you, Ali?
Speaker 7: I relate to Kelsey's answer a lot similar feelings. When
Speaker 7: I pulled into the parking lot and saw the lineup
Speaker 7: already starting, I was also talking to my parents at
Speaker 7: the time, and I was like, Wow, I can't believe
Speaker 7: so many people are showing up for something that I
Speaker 7: was told so many times would never happen for me
Speaker 7: in my career my life. So again, like super grateful
Speaker 7: to be seeing this happen during my career. It was
Speaker 7: something that I knew it happened in my lifetime, but
Speaker 7: I wasn't sure what happened in my career, So a
Speaker 7: lot of emotions surrounding that. I don't think it's set
Speaker 7: in yet. I think it's gonna set in when we
Speaker 7: see those stands packed and people actually on the field.
Speaker 7: But super grateful to be here and be paving this
Speaker 7: pathway for other girls and.
Speaker 1: You're representing another country to I think there's eleven countries
Speaker 1: representing the league.
Speaker 2: Is that right? So you got all of Canada on
Speaker 2: your back too, which is pretty cool. No pressure on Nay,
Speaker 2: what about you?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean basically everything that they've said. I've been
Speaker 5: trying to just like keep myself calm throughout the day.
Speaker 5: We had a practice earlier and you know, vibes were
Speaker 5: very high, so I know everyone on our team is
Speaker 5: really excited, So just trying to keep that energy up.
Speaker 4: And you know, we know about the.
Speaker 5: History, but try not to focus too much on it
Speaker 5: right now because at the end of the day, we
Speaker 5: still have to go play baseball and stuff to put
Speaker 5: on a show for the fans. So just trying to
Speaker 5: stay as calm as possible. Like everyone has said, like
Speaker 5: never thought this would this would happen while I'm still
Speaker 5: able to play.
Speaker 1: And we're not gonna be seeing you on the Mound.
Speaker 1: I was shocked to learn that you won't be pitching
Speaker 1: at all for the Queens. You're an outfielder now all
Speaker 1: the time. I'm gonna miss that.
Speaker 2: But you said you're good, You're ready just to be good.
Speaker 4: I don't miss it at all.
Speaker 2: Wow. I bet your arm doesn't either.
Speaker 4: Oh my arm feels a lot. But yeah, I'm good.
Speaker 2: Helsey. You're coming in hot off the Savannah Bananas.
Speaker 1: You were a huge hit there. Do we have any
Speaker 1: trick pitches or dances planned? Or are you just like
Speaker 1: straight sticking to baseball for this first game.
Speaker 6: No, we're just we're just playing baseball a bunch of
Speaker 6: girls that aren't play based in baseball.
Speaker 8: If there's anything, just bringing the energy. That's what the
Speaker 8: bananas bringing.
Speaker 6: They bring good energy, good vibes, and they really want
Speaker 6: to try to make impacts on the fans. I think
Speaker 6: those are like the three things I want to apply
Speaker 6: here is fan impacts and energy.
Speaker 8: And good vibes. But yeah, probably no trick plays. I
Speaker 8: don't think that's written in the WPBI rule books. Next
Speaker 8: probably you won't. Yeah no, yeah, there's no extra points involved.
Speaker 8: Then I'm not doing Okay.
Speaker 1: Great, great Mona And today you guys are also part
Speaker 1: of the Bananas universe. So I feel like when I'm
Speaker 1: watching them play, their athleticism, their talent is so apparent,
Speaker 1: but also they're loose.
Speaker 2: They're playing with so much joy. Can you take anything out.
Speaker 1: Of your time playing with those other teams that you
Speaker 1: can bring here, Maybe not the trick plays, but just
Speaker 1: getting into that flow state where you're not putting too
Speaker 1: much pressure on yourself.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 9: I think in Banana Ball, a lot of the guys
Speaker 9: just trust themselves, trust the work that they've put in.
Speaker 9: They know how they perform on the field, And I
Speaker 9: think I've gotten to learn that firsthand of like just
Speaker 9: playing free and having fun, like letting your wall down,
Speaker 9: bringing out your personality, being who you are, and just
Speaker 9: playing free. And I think I'm excited to do that here,
Speaker 9: not necessarily all the dancing and craziness, but we're gonna
Speaker 9: focus a little bit more on baseball, but still bringing
Speaker 9: that energy and bringing our own personalities into it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5: Just I think when I'm with my clowns teammates, I
Speaker 5: kind of tell them like, hey, it's all right, you know,
Speaker 5: they get into that competitiveness, but just letting them know,
Speaker 5: like Hey, it's okay to have fun, you know, And
Speaker 5: I think that's what I'm trying to bring here is
Speaker 5: to loosen up a little bit, make sure everyone's having
Speaker 5: a good time, because at the end of the day,
Speaker 5: when you're having a good time, you're gonna.
Speaker 4: Play your best.
Speaker 5: I just actually learned so much from from those guys,
Speaker 5: just watching them, being able to be in the outfield
Speaker 5: and take fly balls with them, learning from World Series
Speaker 5: champions and Goal Globe winners. So I've definitely taken a
Speaker 5: lot from them that I'm gonna, you know, teach some
Speaker 5: of my teammates here as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Ali, I'd love to understand the process of getting
Speaker 1: this league to opening day. How did you hear about
Speaker 1: the WPBL and what we're tryouts?
Speaker 6: Like?
Speaker 7: I was initially contacted by Keith, a fellow Canadian. I
Speaker 7: was a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs when
Speaker 7: Sata was playing for them, so kind of talking to
Speaker 7: her and then starting to talk to Keith, I was like,
Speaker 7: had a lot of faith in the original model of
Speaker 7: the league and the model they're following now, and from
Speaker 7: there just kind of stayed in contact and it escalated
Speaker 7: into signing with the league. And then going to try
Speaker 7: outs in DC, and I think going to try outs
Speaker 7: in DC, I'm sure a lot of these girls can relate.
Speaker 7: Is like seeing so many girls on the ballfield playing
Speaker 7: together for the same thing was like the first time
Speaker 7: I've ever experienced that in my life. And seeing the
Speaker 7: interest that it got right off the hop and women
Speaker 7: just out there trying because why not, Like it's the
Speaker 7: first time this has ever been a thing in a
Speaker 7: lot of these girls' lives, was like, Wow, okay, this
Speaker 7: this has a lot of potential, And like I said,
Speaker 7: just had so much faith in the league from the start,
Speaker 7: and obviously here we are now.
Speaker 1: It honestly makes me kind of like emotional to hear
Speaker 1: you talk about it, because I've had a lot of
Speaker 1: those moments in my lifetime where it's like I grew
Speaker 1: up and I was the only one who wanted something
Speaker 1: or did something, and then eventually getting too the space
Speaker 1: of women's sports now where you're in a room full
Speaker 1: of women that all played and are just as competitive
Speaker 1: and wanted just as bad and in my case, like
Speaker 1: want to be in the media, want to be calling
Speaker 1: games doing stuff that we grew up didn't see a
Speaker 1: single woman doing and you're getting to be a part
Speaker 1: of that. There were six hundred people at those tryouts,
Speaker 1: down to just sixty now, so y'all are really the
Speaker 1: cream of the crop.
Speaker 2: That is very impressive. Monay after you were drafted, what
Speaker 2: were the next like steps leading up to the start
Speaker 2: of the season.
Speaker 4: Just getting my body ready.
Speaker 5: I took tryouts as like to see where I am
Speaker 5: after not playing for so long, and then just you know,
Speaker 5: working with that and just getting myself better and figuring
Speaker 5: out the player I wanted to become here and what
Speaker 5: I wanted to do here, and that was just working
Speaker 5: on those steps.
Speaker 4: And then once I saw them with the.
Speaker 5: Clowns, that was kind of easier way to really get
Speaker 5: adjusted to baseball shape.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, what's the biggest thing going from
Speaker 1: softball in college back to baseball.
Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't think anything.
Speaker 5: I didn't really have too many adjustment because I didn't
Speaker 5: pitching softball, so that wasn't really an adjustment for me.
Speaker 5: I'd probably say just seeing a bigger ball compared to
Speaker 5: the smaller ball, you know, just going back and forth. Yeah,
Speaker 5: so just seeing a live arm, just someone throwing over
Speaker 5: the top, that's probably the only thing I had to
Speaker 5: really adjust to.
Speaker 1: Didn't how much time have you had to get to
Speaker 1: know teammates and stuff ahead of today and how much
Speaker 1: is it going to be getting to know them on
Speaker 1: the field.
Speaker 9: I have not had a lot of time with my teammates,
Speaker 9: coming straight out of the World Cup and trying to
Speaker 9: travel and get here and get settled in. Has been
Speaker 9: a very quick turnaround, But I'm excited I got to
Speaker 9: be with them today and yesterday. Just trying to learn
Speaker 9: as much as I can about everybody on and off
Speaker 9: the field. I think the better you get to know
Speaker 9: your teammates, the closer team is, the better you guys play.
Speaker 9: And you know throughout the game you can feel that energy,
Speaker 9: you can feel that chemistry. So I think it's going
Speaker 9: to be a lot of learning and growth this season,
Speaker 9: but I'm excited for it and just trying to take
Speaker 9: one moment at the time.
Speaker 2: World Cup qualifiers, how did the US and Canada do?
Speaker 8: Us was five and.
Speaker 7: Oh Canada is three and two, but we're going to
Speaker 7: the World Cup five?
Speaker 2: Okay? They both qualified. They both qualified, That's all that matters.
Speaker 2: And who's gonna finally beat japan Us? Okay? Great?
Speaker 1: Canada, Kelsey, what were tryouts like for you?
Speaker 2: And and when did you get the news that you
Speaker 2: were drafted first?
Speaker 6: Overall in the beginning, when none of like nothing was
Speaker 6: setting stone, like the league had just begun, I remember
Speaker 6: Justine had called me and.
Speaker 1: Justin Siegall, who's been fighting this battle for pretty much
Speaker 1: her whole life to get this done.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and she she had called me telling me about
Speaker 6: the league and how you know, there's there's something cooking
Speaker 6: up and something's happening.
Speaker 8: And I remember when she had mentioned it, I was like.
Speaker 6: In my head, I'm like, no way, Like I had
Speaker 6: so many questions like where, when, what's happening, who's a
Speaker 6: part of this, Who's believing in us enough to invest money?
Speaker 8: And just had so many questions.
Speaker 6: And as time, you know, went on, and eventually, like
Speaker 6: the league started to grow and started to like you
Speaker 6: started to learn more about it, and they started posting
Speaker 6: stuff on social media and everything started to really like bloom.
Speaker 6: And then all of a sudden, it's like draft day
Speaker 6: and which came so quick and like you eventually hear
Speaker 6: your name get called and it's just like I talk
Speaker 6: about it so much, almost like to a point where
Speaker 6: it's I talk about too much, but it's fine. But
Speaker 6: the young version of myself was literally the first thing
Speaker 6: I thought about when the draft had happened, and like,
Speaker 6: all I wanted to do was just make her proud
Speaker 6: and do it for her, because I remember being a
Speaker 6: little girl and telling my dad like watching these big
Speaker 6: leaders to get drafted and be like, man, like, how
Speaker 6: cool would it be if like we had a draft
Speaker 6: or if we got to, you know, be in the
Speaker 6: big league draft or something like that.
Speaker 8: But it never happened.
Speaker 6: And then when the WPBL had it, and then finding
Speaker 6: out I was the number one overall like pick, like
Speaker 6: it was just so surreal, especially with all my best
Speaker 6: friends and family who all knew that was my dream,
Speaker 6: and like but never you never speak about it to
Speaker 6: the public because sometimes your dreams get shot down by
Speaker 6: the public. So you just keep it close to your
Speaker 6: heart and to your close people. And so, yeah, it
Speaker 6: was a crazy process. There are a lot of unknowns.
Speaker 6: There were a lot of questioning. A lot of us
Speaker 6: were super curious, like is this like, what's gonna happen,
Speaker 6: It's gonna follow through, It's like, is this really happening?
Speaker 6: And then when everything started to really start kind of going.
Speaker 6: It was like, Okay, this is happening, and now we're here.
Speaker 1: It's a great time to launch a league like this
Speaker 1: because women's sports has never been more popular. The investment
Speaker 1: is there, the belief in treating it like a startup,
Speaker 1: which has always been necessary where you're maybe not going
Speaker 1: to get the profit right off the bat, but your
Speaker 1: long term view and goal is to spend enough to
Speaker 1: make it. And in the past the it just hasn't
Speaker 1: been a willingness to spend enough to make enough. And
Speaker 1: now it feels like the ecosystem is built around it.
Speaker 1: I mean, six hundred thousand followers on social in such
Speaker 1: a short amount of time, all the merch sells out instantly.
Speaker 1: People are so excited about this league and it's in Springfield,
Speaker 1: Illinois for the whole first season, and everyone I tell
Speaker 1: that is like.
Speaker 2: What where? Why? Why do you guys know why we're
Speaker 2: in Springfield.
Speaker 6: I think one of the main reasons is, like this
Speaker 6: stadium was they were willing to allow us to be
Speaker 6: able to be here. I'm pretty sure there were other
Speaker 6: stadiums that were put the bid in to do it,
Speaker 6: and this one, you know, I know they had a
Speaker 6: college team playing here, but we get to use it
Speaker 6: for the whole season. If we were at any other
Speaker 6: stadium or a minor league stadium, we'd probably be moving
Speaker 6: in now with the boys and like having to like
Speaker 6: figure out, But we could create this to be our
Speaker 6: own home. I think that's one that then mentioned something
Speaker 6: about it being more like a kind of a spot
Speaker 6: that can be kind of closer to more of a
Speaker 6: central spot.
Speaker 8: To like a neutral area.
Speaker 1: So Illinois's tagline is Illinois the middle of everything, which
Speaker 1: you can take positively or negatively. I think it's a
Speaker 1: positive because I'm from Illinois, but we are in the
Speaker 1: middle of everything.
Speaker 2: What is going down in Springfield?
Speaker 1: What have y'all been getting up to when you're not
Speaker 1: playing baseball.
Speaker 5: I'm trying to do like team prank Wars. I think
Speaker 5: that would be pretty cool. I think that'll really get
Speaker 5: like the competitiveness, the robbery's going.
Speaker 4: You never know when we're all going.
Speaker 5: To be in the same spot like this again. You know,
Speaker 5: we're here for two months together, so like, let's make
Speaker 5: the best of it. And I feel like when we
Speaker 5: leave from here, the best things you want to have
Speaker 5: are memories, and I think that's the best way to
Speaker 5: create some memories, but nothing harmful, just all jokes, you know,
Speaker 5: just just willing to have fun, you know, be a
Speaker 5: little competitive off the field as well.
Speaker 2: Have you pulled Danny pranks off yet? No?
Speaker 4: But I do need some batteries and then we'll get going.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right on a swivel. Worried for everyone else? Yeah,
Speaker 2: what's happening?
Speaker 4: If you're not on the Queens, just know you're in
Speaker 4: danger zone?
Speaker 1: Okay, shot across the bow to the other three. What
Speaker 1: about you, Danita, Benita, I don't know.
Speaker 9: I gotta figure out what Springfield has to offer. Never
Speaker 9: been here before. It's a new place for me, so
Speaker 9: I'm excited to just explore, maybe find some little restaurants
Speaker 9: to go to. I love food obviously, so you know,
Speaker 9: I got to find my hit and gems and just
Speaker 9: explore the place see what they got to offer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're gonna need to find the twenty four hour
Speaker 1: joints so you can right before you go to bed,
Speaker 1: right exactly. I found like six coffee shops all within
Speaker 1: a block and a half, So I found the hub
Speaker 1: for the caffeine if you need it. Have you all
Speaker 1: gotten to hang out together? You're mostly trying to bond
Speaker 1: with just your own team. So far, when did most
Speaker 1: people get in town. I feel like everyone's kind of
Speaker 1: trickled in on their own time.
Speaker 9: It's been a crazy year for a lot of people,
Speaker 9: Like most of us played in the World Cup, so
Speaker 9: coming off of that, like it's just been a quick turnaround.
Speaker 8: So we're kind of getting in as we can.
Speaker 9: And I think there's a fine line of spending time
Speaker 9: with just your team and creating that legacy and that
Speaker 9: culture within your team, but also like getting to know
Speaker 9: everybody else because at the end.
Speaker 8: Of the day, we're a family and we're here together.
Speaker 9: So I think there's a fine line of like, hey,
Speaker 9: this is my team, this is my culture, but I
Speaker 9: still love everybody else in between the lines, it's game on.
Speaker 6: We've kind of been doing a little bit, not like
Speaker 6: super big team bonding, but been talking about some fun
Speaker 6: stuff we're gonna do out here.
Speaker 8: I think we're gonna try to hit up the h.
Speaker 6: We saw there's a drive in like a movie theater,
Speaker 6: so we might go pop up over there. Saw some
Speaker 6: golf courses, so yeah, we're talking about some ideas everything
Speaker 6: about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, Kelsey, y'all have talked about playing mostly
Speaker 1: with boys growing up, not seeing as many girls and
Speaker 1: women play, the opportunities have been pretty limited, which means
Speaker 1: the pipeline for talent for this league is more limited
Speaker 1: than other sports where there are women's programs for whatever
Speaker 1: that sport is across the country. But it also means
Speaker 1: that the select few of you that have made these
Speaker 1: teams have been predominantly playing on men's teams across college
Speaker 1: and some sort of pro banana universe. That means there
Speaker 1: should be a hell of a lot of talent here.
Speaker 1: So what should fans expect from these first few games.
Speaker 6: Well, women in the game have so much passion, and
Speaker 6: there's gonna be a lot of passion. There's going to
Speaker 6: be a lot of energy, there will be a lot
Speaker 6: of talent, just with the fact that you know, we
Speaker 6: all grew up playing this game, and when you're competing
Speaker 6: in a world where it's male dominated, you feel that
Speaker 6: you need to be the world and the outside makes
Speaker 6: you feel you have to be up to a certain
Speaker 6: level in order to compete there or feel like you
Speaker 6: belong there. So it's almost made our mindsets, or at
Speaker 6: least I could speak for myself, like to think Okay,
Speaker 6: I need to elevate, elevate, elevate. Even when you make
Speaker 6: it to a professional level, it's never enough, like you're
Speaker 6: always constantly trying to elevate yourself. And because we have
Speaker 6: that mindset and that approach towards life and the game,
Speaker 6: when we bring that here, it's going to be a
Speaker 6: whole new level. And all that combined is what's going
Speaker 6: to create this league to be so talented with all
Speaker 6: these players. And personally, I don't think people realize it,
Speaker 6: but there is a solid pipeline out there for eight
Speaker 6: girls that are like that, ten to like thirteen fourteen
Speaker 6: that are really they're raw and.
Speaker 8: They're just not being seen.
Speaker 6: And I think that's a huge goal of mine, is
Speaker 6: to try to, hopefully in the future like create a
Speaker 6: really solid like pipeline for these young girls who are
Speaker 6: really talented right now. You got to catch them at
Speaker 6: the age before they transition to softball because then they
Speaker 6: which with this league hopefully that that stops that transition,
Speaker 6: because then they can continue just elevating their baseball game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have something to look forward to to pursue.
Speaker 2: Didn't you strike me as a competitive person?
Speaker 8: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: So what's it going to be, like to go from
Speaker 1: leagues or playing opportunities where you look around and you're like,
Speaker 1: I'm the best woman here, hands down to like, oh shit,
Speaker 1: everyone here's really good.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 9: I mean, I personally don't feel like I blow my
Speaker 9: head up when I'm on the field. I just like
Speaker 9: to focus on me and what I produce. But I'm
Speaker 9: excited to like taking my teammates and see what they
Speaker 9: bring to the field and just see how we can
Speaker 9: work together to be the best team here. It's not
Speaker 9: about me, It's about the team and just creating those
Speaker 9: opportunities for everybody.
Speaker 8: So I'm excited to see the talent.
Speaker 9: I love competition, Like, I don't want to step out
Speaker 9: here and think that I'm the best.
Speaker 8: I want people to push me to my best.
Speaker 9: I want to I want other people to show me
Speaker 9: up and say, like this is how you play like
Speaker 9: a girl, Like I want to see that out here.
Speaker 8: So I'm excited.
Speaker 9: I know there's a lot of great talent here, and
Speaker 9: I'm excited to see it and be part of it.
Speaker 2: Monette has a different answer. Let's hear it.
Speaker 5: No, I was just saying you should keep that confident though,
Speaker 5: like when you're facing a picture or whatever the case
Speaker 5: may be. You should think you're better than the person
Speaker 5: that's in front of you. And that's just that's not
Speaker 5: cocky or anything. I just believing in you know yourself,
Speaker 5: and believing in the preparation. So I think everyone's here.
Speaker 5: You know, we're we're competitive, but at the same time,
Speaker 5: we're very confident in our ability and no one's gonna
Speaker 5: think they're above anybody else. But at the same time,
Speaker 5: when you're head to head with somebody, you're gonna believe
Speaker 5: you're gonna win that battle.
Speaker 1: Earlier, I asked Monet her dream matchup. She said, it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter who's in front of me, I'm going to
Speaker 1: beat all of them.
Speaker 4: So I just I believe in myself. I be like myself.
Speaker 2: I like it.
Speaker 5: I believe my team. You know, I think us Queens.
Speaker 5: I think we're going to bring it.
Speaker 2: We get home, Okay, we got Queen's fans in here.
Speaker 8: I don't know.
Speaker 6: I was kind of looking at our team past two days,
Speaker 6: and we're pretty stacked.
Speaker 5: I think all the teams are pretty I think we
Speaker 5: have more time to practice together. We had a good
Speaker 5: amount here at the beginning of the week, so we
Speaker 5: got to bond pretty pretty quickly.
Speaker 2: Hey, we're starting the trash talk.
Speaker 1: I like it would have happened sooner if I was involved.
Speaker 1: But I appreciate that y'all are catching up. Ali, what
Speaker 1: are you most looking forward to this season?
Speaker 7: I am super excited to a pursue my childhood dream
Speaker 7: and b be creating a space where little girls, can,
Speaker 7: you know, go to school on career day and say
Speaker 7: I want to be a professional baseball player and not
Speaker 7: have anybody look at them and tell them, no, that's
Speaker 7: not possible.
Speaker 2: I love that. What about you today?
Speaker 8: I mean, how could you not want that?
Speaker 9: But I think I just I'm most excited to be
Speaker 9: with the people that I love, Like this is the
Speaker 9: longest amount of time that we've truly got to spend
Speaker 9: together and just to live out our dreams together in
Speaker 9: one place, being one family, Like that's something special.
Speaker 8: We've never gotten to do that before.
Speaker 9: So just to be in this space with people that
Speaker 9: I care about and people who have been fighting for
Speaker 9: the same thing for our whole life, it's it's undescribable,
Speaker 9: Like you don't get that anywhere else, even playing for
Speaker 9: the national team, Like we're together for.
Speaker 8: Two weeks, that's it. That's all we get and then
Speaker 8: it's okay, bye, see you next year.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 9: But now like we have this space where we feel
Speaker 9: like we belong and we can take it in.
Speaker 8: We can live together day by day.
Speaker 9: Like go through this journey together, figure it out together,
Speaker 9: continue to create the future of women's baseball.
Speaker 8: And I'm just.
Speaker 2: Excited to do that, Kelsey, what are you excited about?
Speaker 6: About four or five years ago, when I was playing
Speaker 6: professional baseball in New York, I was going through probably
Speaker 6: one of the hardest times in my career, and I
Speaker 6: was kind of questioning, if you know this is for
Speaker 6: me for she keep going, And I remember praying and saying, Lord,
Speaker 6: just make this whatever I'm doing right now, I have
Speaker 6: it on my heart.
Speaker 8: You know it's on my heart.
Speaker 6: Just please make this worth it in the end, Like
Speaker 6: just make it worth it. Let me know that eventually,
Speaker 6: like this is worth like continuing to go for it
Speaker 6: and fast forward. Now I can look back and say
Speaker 6: like it was worth it, Like it was so worth it.
Speaker 6: So I think what I'm looking forward to is like
Speaker 6: answered prayers, happening and experiencing them and then playing ball,
Speaker 6: Like that's what we're here to do. We're trying to
Speaker 6: do what we love, Like that's all we want to do.
Speaker 6: I know, that's all I wanted to do in my
Speaker 6: entire life. So it's playing baseball with the girls and
Speaker 6: like and most of all, not feeling that feeling of
Speaker 6: emptiness when you feel alone being the only girl on
Speaker 6: the field.
Speaker 8: I feel like I've had that too many times in
Speaker 8: my life. I've felt that, and it.
Speaker 6: Creates you to isolate yourself, create you feel lonely, it
Speaker 6: creates you to be a little messed up here sometimes.
Speaker 6: And I'm really excited that, Like, this is the most
Speaker 6: free I feel like being here, and I'm just excited
Speaker 6: to feel comfortable well doing what I love for once.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1: All right, money, I don't know what they left for you.
Speaker 1: But what are you most excited about this season?
Speaker 5: It's my first time playing with other women, So just
Speaker 5: getting out there to play with women, you know, looking
Speaker 5: to my right, looking to my left, and it's a
Speaker 5: woman out there. So I mean, besides everything they said.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, what they said, what they said. Okay, we're
Speaker 2: gonna do a speed round.
Speaker 1: Okay, first question for the speed round is name one
Speaker 1: teammate of yours we should keep an eye out for
Speaker 1: this season, Kelsey for the fire bells.
Speaker 8: I'm not really good at speed questions. Clearly, first, yeah,
Speaker 8: go for it, I.
Speaker 5: Would say Amir Handras. She's super young, she played for
Speaker 5: USA as well, and she's just all around great player.
Speaker 7: Okay, how about you, Ali, I'm gonna say Lexi Hastings.
Speaker 7: She's a two A softball and baseball and super fast
Speaker 7: on the bass pass. Has so much potential in the
Speaker 7: hosspects of the game.
Speaker 2: Okay, so look for speed on the hunters. What about
Speaker 2: you today?
Speaker 8: I'm gonna go with Ronnie our starting pictures today. I'm excited.
Speaker 9: I've never gotten a catch for her before, so I'm
Speaker 9: excited to see what she brings.
Speaker 8: She seems locked in and fired out.
Speaker 6: Okay, Okay, Joe Park she's on the women's grand team
Speaker 6: and she's a middle infielder.
Speaker 8: She could swing it.
Speaker 6: She's one of those like very stealthy, like you just
Speaker 6: don't see her coming and she's gonna Yeah, she's a
Speaker 6: little stud.
Speaker 2: Okay, I love that.
Speaker 1: Okay, next speed round question, is there a chant or
Speaker 1: a song for the fans of your team that they
Speaker 1: should know? Is they're a rallying cry that y'all have
Speaker 1: been saying to each other in practice yet and if not,
Speaker 1: you need to make one up right now.
Speaker 6: Well, well, we we got some stuff we're cooking up
Speaker 6: right now. Okay, we have to go go get it,
Speaker 6: but right now, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2: In the physical objects.
Speaker 6: We're in the works of stuff right now. But hey,
Speaker 6: the firebells have something but like a sound. If you
Speaker 6: guys go on social media, I'll leave it up to
Speaker 6: Amanda Gia Nolany. She was trying to do some sounds
Speaker 6: and I'll let her be the one to do that.
Speaker 8: Okay.
Speaker 6: Was it like a firetruck kind of siren or the
Speaker 6: sound of a phoenix and a bell combined.
Speaker 8: I don't know what that is, and uh, I'm not
Speaker 8: gonna do it.
Speaker 1: I'm sad that you won't try, but I'll take it
Speaker 1: easy on you.
Speaker 2: Kelsey, what about you guys.
Speaker 9: I think we're still cooking up some things that we're
Speaker 9: not ready to put out yet. It takes some time
Speaker 9: to build that culture. But I definitely want to connect
Speaker 9: to New York in some type of way, maybe bring
Speaker 9: out some Spanish vibes I love, like bad money and
Speaker 9: all that type of vibes. And I think it fits perfectly,
Speaker 9: So we're going to bring the energy for sure.
Speaker 2: All right, Ali, Yeah, ours is still in the works
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 7: I don't know what an ospray sounds like, so no,
Speaker 7: I'm also not gonna.
Speaker 1: Try a random bird noise nobody. Nobody knows, so you
Speaker 1: can just make it up.
Speaker 7: Serena Robinson on our team is good.
Speaker 2: She's good with that.
Speaker 7: So if you don't want to see what an ospray
Speaker 7: sounds like, go to her instagram. Oh perfect, But I
Speaker 7: saw somebody made shirts for Boston and it says it's
Speaker 7: hunting seat, and so I think that's a statement that
Speaker 7: we're gonna we're gonna roll with for the season.
Speaker 2: It's hunting season. I love that.
Speaker 5: Okay money, Oh, we don't have a chance or anything,
Speaker 5: but we were talking about it at practice, and you know,
Speaker 5: if someone hits a double or hits a home or
Speaker 5: we're gonna curtsey and then also night them with their
Speaker 5: bet and probably give them like a crown to be
Speaker 5: the Yes, we haven't checked with the whole team yet,
Speaker 5: but I'm pretty sure it's gonna it's gonna be approved.
Speaker 1: Leave it to Los Angeles to have the whole show
Speaker 1: planned already. Spotlight on them. Well, I'm so excited to
Speaker 1: watch y'all. I'm so excited for you to be in
Speaker 1: this position. Let's all do whatever we believe. We'll make
Speaker 1: sure that the weather stays good so we can enjoy
Speaker 1: this amazing day together.
Speaker 2: Congratulations and good luck.
Speaker 8: Thank you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to the ladies for sitting down with me
Speaker 1: ahead of that game.
Speaker 2: And don't forget.
Speaker 1: You can now watch full length good game interviews on
Speaker 1: the iHeart Women's Sports YouTube channel. We have to take
Speaker 1: another break when we return a new old mascot.
Speaker 2: I'll explain in a sec Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1: We love that you're listening, but we want you to
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. Watch the WBBL, go
Speaker 1: to a game irl if you're near Springfield, Illinois, or
Speaker 1: catch the games on TV. ESPN Select is carrying all
Speaker 1: inaugural season games for US based fans, and the Script
Speaker 1: Sports Network will be hearing a select slate of games.
Speaker 1: We'll put the broadcast schedule in the show notes. Also,
Speaker 1: a Blue Sky follower told me they were able to
Speaker 1: watch up in Canada on YouTube, So if you're a
Speaker 1: Maple Bacon slice, Email me and let me know if
Speaker 1: you're able to watch future games there as well. In
Speaker 1: between games, you can catch up with Monette, Daney, Ali,
Speaker 1: and Kelsey on Instagram. Links to their pages are also
Speaker 1: in the show notes. And while you're at it, one
Speaker 1: more insta page to follow. At Cleveland WNBA, the WNBA's
Speaker 1: next expansion team, set to begin play in twenty twenty eight,
Speaker 1: is teasing a big announcement coming on Tuesday.
Speaker 2: Could it be the team's name and branding?
Speaker 1: They've been dropping a lot of hints, including a ton
Speaker 1: of wave imagery and a sand structure on a local
Speaker 1: Cleveland beach that read here the call. Will it be
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Sirens? I don't know timing that sirens drop
Speaker 1: just as Christopher Nolans The Odyssey is in theaters. Keep
Speaker 1: your eyes on that page.
Speaker 2: We love to hear from you, so hit us up
Speaker 2: on email.
Speaker 1: Good game at Wondermedia network dot com or leave us
Speaker 1: a voicemail at eight seven two two o four fifty
Speaker 1: seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review slices.
Speaker 2: It's easy.
Speaker 1: Watch may Bell the mascot rating ten out of ten.
Speaker 1: No notes review Midway through Saturday's WPBL opener, a voice
Speaker 1: over the loudspeaker directed our attention to the third baseline,
Speaker 1: where we would be introduced to the brand new WPBL mascot,
Speaker 1: may Bell the mascot, an ode to Maybell Blair and
Speaker 1: a dead ringer for the nonagenarian legend, a white shock
Speaker 1: of hair, the signature red shades, and a baseball bat
Speaker 1: shaped cane. This mascot rules so hard, you guys. It
Speaker 1: goes from one handed cartwheels to grabbing at its lower
Speaker 1: back and limping for a few steps before suddenly twerking.
Speaker 1: If you haven't yet, please go read up on Maybell's
Speaker 1: incredible history on the field and in life, including her
Speaker 1: decision to come out as queer in twenty twenty two
Speaker 1: while promoting the illeague of their own TV show, and
Speaker 1: also just her lifelong fight to promote women's baseball. She's
Speaker 1: amazing and so deserving of Maybell the mascot. We'll link
Speaker 1: to a few stories and Maybell in her own words
Speaker 1: in the show notes. Now it's your turn, y'all, rate
Speaker 1: and review, Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Good game, Monette,
Speaker 1: Dannay Ali and Kelsey, Good game, La Queens You Rain
Speaker 1: for trying to ruin Opening Day. Good Game with Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with
Speaker 1: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzi
Speaker 1: and Bianca Hillier.
Speaker 2: Our executive producers are.
Speaker 1: Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our
Speaker 1: editors are Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer.
Speaker 1: Production assistants from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain