Five girls break baseball's 'grass ceiling'

BOLTON | Outfielder/pitcher Haylie Puterko of the Indian Lake-Long Lake baseball team stood in the dugout, watching her teammate Nathan Hosley at-bat early in a game May 5 between her team and Bolton-Schroon Lake on the Bolton town ballfield. "Way to go, Deuce," she said, using Hosley's nickname. Puterko, a junior at Long Lake Central, expressed her thoughts about what it was like to play along with four other girls and six boys on a co-ed baseball team — extremely rare for both high school and collegiate sports. "This is like making history…..It's getting us on the map, that's for sure — and the guys are pretty 'chill' about it," she said as shared some quips with several of her teammates. "I like playing baseball — it's easier pitching a baseball than a softball, that's for sure," she added, mentioning the weight and size of the ball. "But the windup is different," she continued. Puterko and the Orange's other female players all had varsity experience in softball in 2021, but the very small enrollment at both schools couldn't support a softball team this year. The Indian Lake-Long Lake baseball team had been in the same predicament — there were not enough baseball players this season to field a varsity squad, and the sport had been sidelined since 2019. Responding to a lack of male student-athletes available to play hardball, baseball Coach Ray Hoag asked the girls, all experienced varsity softball players, to join male students to form a co-ed baseball team — and they responded with enthusiasm, he recalled. They joined six boys, only one of whom had played varsity baseball — the rest had little or virtually no experience with the sport. Garrett Hutchins, the only male player with varsity experience, was absent for the May 5 game against Bolton-Schroon Lake. During the game, Puterko talked about the early-season reaction from locals to girls playing baseball. "At first, some adults thought it was weird," she said. "But hey, it's 2022." Midway in the game, second baseman Annalise Penrose executed an out by chasing a Bolton player out of the baseline, after her back-and-forth volley with first baseman Charlotte Liddle to trap the runner. Watching the action, Hoag grinned. He said the co-ed team has been enjoying their joint venture, and they are gaining skills as they compete. "Our players are doing great — they are overachieving," he said. "They come out on the field ready to learn." The team's catcher is Marilla Liddle, a senior at Indian Lake. Her sports career began in second grade playing youth baseball, then she shifted to softball for the school's modified team, progressed to varsity, but switched back to baseball this year when the school shelved varsity softball. Her sister Charlotte, the team's first baseman, offered her thoughts about the merged baseball team "I'm having a lot of fun, and everyone's pretty cool about it," she said. Logan Kendall joined the conversation. "Combining the team gave us the opportunity to play," he said. "We all work together — everyone is having fun." Shortstop Ravyn Sotomayer agreed. "We all are here to work as hard as we can — and everyone is super-supportive," she said. Junior Garrit Clark added his thoughts. "We definitely have a good time," he said. Later, Charlotte Liddle was hit in the knee by a hard-hit ground ball, and her teammates gasped. Hoag asked Liddle if she wanted to sit out for a while, but she asserted that she would continue playing. Returning to the dugout, Hoag remarked that softballs and hardballs bounce differently, and it takes time for softball players to adjust. Charlotte and Marilla's grandmother, one of the three Orange fans attending, said she wasn't worried about her granddaughters being in the line of fire. "They are doing very well; they are experienced and confident," she said. "They've got strong team spirit, and they uphold each other well." Moments later, these observations were evident as Clark smacked a hit, enabling Marilla to steal from first to second, After a short pause, she stole from second to third. Then The Orange's next batter Nathan Hosley hit a single, and both Marilla and Clark scored. Their teammates emitted loud cheers. Returning to the dugout, Marilla smiled. "We support each other no matter what," she said. The scoreboard displayed 26-2 after four innings in favor of Bolton. Regardless of this tally, the Orange players sported smiles about their accomplishments which included occasional strikes thrown by pitchers Clark, Hosley, Puterko, and Jacob Hall. Packing up his gear, Bolton coach Dan Sheridan expressed his thoughts about the co-ed squad that his team had just faced. "Those girls were really competitive right from the beginning of the game.....their shortstop had a solid hit right off our number-two pitcher, Corbin Baker," he said, referring to Ravyn Sotomayor. "And they don't back off from the ball," Sheridan continued, mentioning the hard-hit ground balls fielded by Orange infielders Sotomayer, Penrose, and Charlotte Liddle. "They're tough girls." Orange Coach Hoag picked up bats and headed off the field. "My team has been doing an outstanding job — it's amazing how quickly they are catching on," he said. "I'm proud of them, that's for sure."

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Five girls break baseball's 'grass ceiling'

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