The Women’s Pro Baseball League started Saturday with a game between the Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights but sports fans were seemingly drawn to the festivities before the first pitch was thrown.
Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and have one of their hits, “Dancing in the Street,” listed in the United States Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, was among those who were tapped to sing the national anthem before the game.
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Reeves, 85, and two other women left a lot to be desired as their rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” was panned on social media. The fans who packed Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, as well as some of the players were taken aback by the performance.
It was a sour tune to start an otherwise historic night for women’s baseball. It was the first women’s pro baseball game played in the U.S. in nearly three decades.
Mo’ne Davis may have been the most recognizable face on the field. Davis, who captured the hearts and minds of sports fans during the Little League World Series in 2014, started in center field for the Queens. She managed to cross the plate once in Los Angeles’ win.
Queens left fielder and pitcher Maggie Foxx, was 2-for-2 with two RBI. She also struck out two batters.
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“When I walked on the field I started crying because of how much this moment meant, and how much it meant to everybody,” she said. “It means everything to us.”
Heights catcher Denae Benites was 4-for-4 with two RBI on the evening. She spoke about 99-year-old Maybelle Blair throwing out the first pitch. Blair played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran from 1943 to 1954 and inspired “A League of Their Own.”
“I think that’s pretty incredible,” Benites said. “Maybelle’s been sticking with us since the beginning of this journey. She’s paved a path for us, really. … She’s a special person and I’m so happy that she got to make it out here and do that today.”
Los Angeles won the game, 10-8.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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