A quiet, cool morning along Carpasian Road in St. John’s opens up into a hub of activity as the historic St. Pat’s Ballpark plays host for another week of the 2025 Canada Summer Games.
Lawn mowers are buzzing, the smell of fresh-cut grass clings to the air.
Just inside the gates of the park is Team Newfoundland and Labrador warming up ahead of a morning practice.
It could be like any other day of the summer for most of these athletes, but they all know they’re about to make history.
“I’m very excited to showcase our talent, and to show the rest of the country what we can do,” Team N.L. catcher Kerry Russell told CBC News on Monday.
Later Monday evening, thousands of spectators flooded the park to watch history in action.
Newfoundland and Labrador took to the field against Team British Columbia, under a chorus of cheers from a raucous crowd in the stands.
It was the first-ever women’s baseball game in Canada Games history, and the only game on the schedule across all sports on Monday.
The moment was fitting, not only for the sport but also for St. John’s as the host city.
In 2022, a then 16-year-old Jaida Lee made baseball history by breaking the gender barrier after suiting up for Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s men’s team during the Canada Summer Games in Ontario’s Niagara region.
Lee’s moment in the spotlight was heightened by an invitation from the Toronto Blue Jays to throw out the first pitch during a regular season game against the Cleveland Guardians. Her Canada Games ball was also enshrined in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont.
“It’s really cool to see how much it’s grown over time, because back in 2022, especially in Newfoundland, women’s baseball wasn’t that big,” Lee said. “The fact that we have a team in [the Canada Games] is huge.”
There’s been a lot of hoping, and wishing and hard work going on behind the scenes to make women’s baseball a sport in the Canada Games, according to coaches and players. The CBC’s Jeremy Eaton reports.
Lee’s peers, many of whom are on the Team N.L. women’s baseball team this year, know how special that moment was. Now they’re ready to make their own moment count.
“She was our teammate a couple of years ago, so seeing her do that … it’s really cool,” said Team N.L. pitcher and shortstop Jennifer Murphy.
“I’m really excited that she paved the way for us, and we can do it here.”
Growing the game
Newfoundland and Labrador’s head coach Mark Healy has been involved with women’s baseball at the provincial and national levels for about a decade.
He was among the many people who lobbied for the inclusion of the women’s division at the Canada Games.
“Having it here in my home province means a lot, actually. It’s very special. I think it’s just going to be a great opportunity for girls’ baseball moving forward,” he said.
The sport has grown exponentially across the province in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healy said the work behind the scenes to grow the sport among young girls has been paying off.
“I feel maybe it’s a little bit of fate, maybe it’s something special that it’s coming together right now,” he said.
“The growth has been great. We’re on an upward trend for the last number of years, but I just think it’s going to continue to grow.”
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