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Simla baseball player Amanda Webb looks for the throw to second as ECA base runner Jonathan Steel moves towards third.
Girl carves (base) path for others to follow
More teams in Colorado are no longer all-male
SIMLA - The blond ponytail sticking out of the back of senior Amanda Webb's ballcap may seem out of place when Simla's varsity baseball team takes the field.
Webb is one of the few girls in Colorado to have played varsity baseball for four years, but she has much in common with her male teammates - she plays hard and has fun doing it.
Webb is leading a trend as more girls play on what were virtually male-only teams little more than a decade ago in Colorado.
Like any incoming freshman, her acceptance onto the team wasn't automatic. She had to earn it.
Her coach and father, Rod Webb, supported her from the start and the boys soon accepted Webb, opening the door for other girls - senior Dawn Jenkins and sophomore Cami Moore - to try out and make the team this spring.
Being a good athlete (a starter on Simla's 2A state third-place volleyball team) and a lifelong friend and classmate in a small high school of fewer than 100 students helps, Amanda Webb said.
She had the option of playing softball at nearby Limon, but Webb wanted to play for her school, where she grew up.
She also knows her best chance of playing college baseball is in intramurals.
There were some awkward moments as usual between any players competing for playing time after Webb, who plays second base and outfield, tried out.
"It was a little nerveracking being the only girl," Webb said. "But they have been very helpful and weren't too tough on me."
Senior teammate Dustin Patterson wasn't too sure about having girls on the squad.
"It was pretty weird at first," he said. "We encourage them and they are actually pretty good. Now it's just part of the game."
Other teams have not been as accepting. Webb said opponents challenge her to see if she can take it.
"They kind of look at me like, ‘You can't play baseball,' and they'll throw me the change-ups and the curveballs," Webb said.
Calhan coach Shane Mc-Clelland, who has known the Webb family for years, said that if they play her tougher, it's because they have to.
"Mandy does a good job of getting on base," said Mc-Clelland, who has a girl on his varsity, senior Talia Bryant. "It also puts a lot of pressure on the male pitcher. He's thinking, ‘I can't walk her or let her get on base,' or else he's going to be embarrassed."
Webb is batting .231 out of the No. 8 spot, (3-for-13 with a run) and has two RBIs and three walks in the latest available stats for the 2-9 Cubs.
Webb described being hit by a pitch this season.
"I don't think it was on purpose, but he hit me and I took my base," she said. "His teammates were yelling at him from the bench like, ‘I can't believe you just hit a girl.'"
Most high school girls weren't allowed to play baseball with boys in Colorado before 1997.
Colorado High School Activities Association assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann was part of the committee that changed the rule. Beforehand, schools offering softball couldn't allow a girl to try out for baseball.
"We determined that there was enough difference between the two sports, so we lifted the restrictions," Borgmann said.
Borgmann said coed teams are not uncommon at smaller schools in Colorado. He hasn't received any complaints about girls playing baseball.
"If you're not comfortable with it as an adult, then you've got bigger problems," he said. "Kids are able to adapt and if you're able to go out and compete, they'll want you."
Webb said she has never had anyone tell her that she can't or shouldn't play.
"It won't do them any good to complain about me," she said. "They are going to have to tough it out, because I'm going to do what I love."
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