Stompers make history, sign 2 women

Pair will start in Friday night’s game|

In yet another first, the Sonoma Stompers have signed two women to contracts, and they’ll be in the starting lineup team tonight, Friday, July 1, at Arnold Field as the Stompers face the San Rafael Pacifics.

The Stompers signed 17-year-old outfielder/pitcher Kelsie Whitmore from Temecula, and 25-year-old pitcher/infielder Stacy Piagno from St. Augustine, Florida.

The Stompers, which are part of the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, will be the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950s when Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Constance Morgan achieved the distinction of becoming the first women to play alongside men in the Negro Leagues.

In September, Whitmore and Piagno are also slated to play for Team USA in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in South Korea. Whitmore, who recently graduated from Temecula Valley High School, will attend Cal State Fullerton on a softball scholarship next season. Piagno, who threw a no-hitter for the United States team when they captured a gold medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada, played softball at the University of Tampa.

The Stompers teamed up with Francis Ford Coppola’s Virginia Dare Winery in recruiting the women.

“My family would play co-ed baseball games and inevitably the star player would always be an aunt who could run and hit and that made the games so much more fun,” said Francis Ford Coppola. “When watching Major League Baseball, I always wondered why there couldn’t be a co-ed team. “

Theo Fightmaster, the Stompers vice president and general manager, agreed with Coppola.

“The Stompers share the passion and vision of Francis Ford Coppola, and are dedicated to the advancement of women in baseball,”

The Stompers have pushed the envelope since their inception in 2014. In 2015, pitcher, Sean Conroy, became the first openly gay player to play at the professional level.

Tickets to tonight’s game are available at stompersbaseball.com or at the Arnold Field box office prior to the 6 p.m. start.

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