Women’s professional baseball continues its historic return this week as the new Women’s Professional Baseball League resumes play at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, while a local connection is shining a light on one of the pioneers who helped shape the sport decades ago.
Wednesday night, Aug. 5, the Boston Hunters will face the Los Angeles Queens with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. On Thursday night, Aug. 6, the New York Heights will take on the San Francisco Firebells, also with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The Queens and Firebells each opened the inaugural season with victories last weekend, while the Hunters and Heights dropped their season openers. The league marks the return of women’s professional baseball for the first time in 70 years.
As the new league begins its inaugural season, WSPY received a tip highlighting a local athlete who was part of the original era of women’s professional baseball. Mary Lou (Beschorner) Baskovich, a 1947 Plano High School graduate, played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1949 and 1950 seasons. She spent the 1949 campaign as an outfielder with the Grand Rapids Chicks before playing the outfield for the Peoria Redwings in 1950.
Baskovich’s contributions to the game remain recognized today. Her name appears on the commemorative plaque honoring All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Beyond her baseball career, Baskovich also excelled in golf, setting women’s course records at three local nine-hole courses in Morris, Earlville and Plano’s Cedardell Golf Club, further cementing her legacy as one of the area’s accomplished athletes.