The National League was founded in February of 1876, and since the senior circuit kicked off baseball in this country women have gained equal rights and made a huge impact on the sports landscape both in the United States and abroad.
Recently a story came out of Arizona where Our Lady of Sorrows Academy forfeited a state championship game, refusing to play Mesa Prep solely because the team’s starting second basemen is a girl.
Mesa Prep is a Phoenix high school and the school does not have a softball team, so Paige Sulzbach, a 15-year-old girl decided to try her hand in baseball. Not only did Sulzbach make the team but she is the squad’s starting second basewoman.
Out of respect for Our Lady of Sorrows, Sulzbach sat out during Mesa Prep’s two regular season match ups against them, but with the State Championship on the line, she was determined to play. While no one from the school has commented on the issue, Our Lady of Sorrows released a statement saying the decision to forfeit the game was consistent with the school’s policy prohibiting co-ed sports.
In the past female athletes have competed at high levels against male counterparts, recently Mo Isom, an LSU soccer player tried out for the school’s football team. She was cut, but Isom vows to go out for the Tigers again.
At the high school level do you think girls should be allowed to compete on a boys team?
