Brown’s Olivia Pichardo becomes the first woman to play in Div. i baseball game

Brown’s freshman Olivia Pichardo made NCAA history on Friday, becoming what the school said was the first woman to appear in a Division I baseball game.

The New York freshman came on as a batter with one out late in the ninth inning and found himself on first base in what ended up being a 10-1 loss to Bryant in Providence, Rhode Island.

“I hope it shows people that if a player is talented enough to have the opportunity, they should be judged solely on their baseball ability. No other factor should play into that. And Liv is an example of that.” , Brown’s trainer Grant Achilles said. said.

“It’s not enough for her to put all her hard work and effort into it. It takes a network of people who have supported her along the way. It takes teammates along the way. Her teammates are a special group to be able to both realize how historic this moment is, but also to hold her accountable as a teammate to our level as baseball players. And I think what has been the most beautiful thing for me is that “She’s a teammate. They don’t handle her with white gloves because it’s different. They work to navigate space with her as an individual, and that’s how she makes our team better. doing your best every day, pushing others and then having that unique dynamic.

“So when it comes to how other teams and other girls are going to hopefully use Olivia as motivation for that, I think that’s not something you can do on your own- even.”

Pichardo became the first woman to play on an NCAA Division I varsity baseball team in the fall.

At the time, Achille said he was impressed with his physical qualities during his first try and in subsequent training, calling it “the most complete walk-in try I’ve seen from a player” since becoming Brown’s coach in 2012.

Pichardo pitched and outfielded for the United States Women’s National Baseball Team this summer and previously played college baseball in Queens.

Brown fell to 1-10 with Friday’s home opener loss.