As she steps up to the plate, Liliana Perez isn’t just honing her baseball skills, the sixth grader is dreaming of a future in baseball, a sport once seemingly off-limits to female athletes.
“People think it’s just for the boys. It’s for girls too. They can have a chance, finally have a chance to show off what they’ve been learning,” said Perez.
“Baseball’s America’s pastime. And so to be able to tell our young ladies that, ‘Hey if you want to play the game, you are able to play the game for as long as you want, especially here,” said Jesse Malone.
As the manager of Academy Outreach and Education Programs for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, Malone said she’s watched the girls' program grow significantly over the last several years.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
It’s one of many efforts toward equal play recognized every Feb. 7 on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
“We’re celebrating all of the young ladies who choose to play sports,” she said.
It’s an opportunity to recognize the doors that have been opened for this latest generation of female athletes while rallying behind the continued support for equality both on and off the field.
