Brittany Apgar (from left), Maggie Foxx and Mo'ne Davis, of the Los Angeles Queens, joke around in the dugout prior to the start of the Women's Pro Baseball League's inaugural game in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Three hours before game time, hundreds of fans swarmed the construction-lined, rain-soaked parking lot of Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium. Some lived down the road; most hailed from across the country, and some had come from as far as away as South Korea and Australia.
Carol and Mike Studer, the grandparents of the New York Heights' first baseman London Studer, worried the weather would postpone London's start against the Los Angeles Queens and they'd miss their flight the next morning. One hour later, security parted the gates.
"Am I the very first inside?" yelled a teenage girl holding a baseball mitt as she rushed through a balloon-adorned entrance to be greeted by a custom bobblehead of Queens outfielder Mo'ne Davis.
Staff quietly hurried to tape falling signage to the walls, troubleshoot the jumbotron and cook burgers and hot dogs as rain seeped through the grated ceilings of the exterior walkways. Fans, meanwhile, made a beeline for the merch booth; within hours, sales were capped at two items per fan to accommodate demand. Underneath translucent ponchos, fans donned hats, sweatshirts and T-shirts in support of the league's four teams: the Queens, the Heights, the Boston Hunters and the San Francisco Firebells. Team loyalty was largely arbitrary, though; most said they were simply happy to support the athletes and to be present to witness the league's inaugural game.
Players with the Boston Hunters and the San Francisco Firebells assist the grounds crew in rolling up the infield tarp prior to the start of the WPBL's inaugural game on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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Sabrina Robinson, the Boston Hunters' first baseman, fixes her hair in her hotel room before going out with her fellow players in the Women's Pro Baseball League on Thursday, July 30.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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Robinson (center) fist bumps her teammates at the conclusion of a preseason scrimmage prior to the WPBL's opening weekend on Thursday, July 30, in Springfield, Ill.
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The San Francisco Firebells get in some batting practice at the University of Illinois, Springfield's training field before the WPBL's inaugural weekend on Thursday, July 30.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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San Francisco Firebells coach Matt Williams (from left), second baseman Amanda Gianelloni, catcher Samantha Gutierrez and left fielder Skylar Kaplan in the dugout prior to their game on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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Fans from Delaware drove 1,700 miles to see Mo'ne Davis play in the WPBL's inaugural game in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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WPBL teams' captains and the league's commissioner, Justine Siegal, pass a torch to youth representatives of Baseball For All, a gender equity initiative to support girls in baseball, in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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Enter the players. The Hunters and Firebells, who would play the following day, wandered the grounds in full uniform. Many were greeted with hugs by their parents and siblings, who'd traveled from across the U.S. and from 11 different countries to witness their daughters and sisters play professionally for the first time. Girls and boys blocked the players' paths to ask for autographs, beaming at their parents as they showed off their newly signed T-shirts, mitts and baseballs.
The weekend marked the start of the Women's Pro Baseball League's inaugural season. Its four host cities — Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York — were chosen for their history of sports loyalty and market size, yet the opening season will run for six weeks in the geographically central location of Springfield, Ill.
A stray ball lands near Springfield's corn fields during preseason practice on Thursday, July 30.
Jaclyn Licht for NPR
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