Two Sask. baseball players drafted to Professional Women’s League

As women’s sports continue to boom in popularity, a new league has emerged hoping for the same fortune.

The Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) held its inaugural draft on Thursday, and as women from all over the world heard their names get called, two players from Saskatoon joined the list.

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Braidy Birdsall and Addie Ziebart were both selected in the fifth round of the draft — Birdsall was selected by Boston and Ziebart was selected by New York.

Birdsall said she was shocked to hear her name called.

“I was actually injured in May and June which put me out for the rest of the season,” she said.

“I didn’t have any expectations of getting picked, I was just excited to be there, so I think it was more of a shock that I got picked at all.”

Ziebart said she was also in disbelief.

“It was super exciting, it was hard to expect it,” she said. “But it was exciting when it happened.”

Birdsall was also the first Saskatchewan born player drafted, a piece of history that hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

“I never really thought of that because my other teammate Addie (Ziebart) was up there with me,” she said. “I thought it was pretty cool that there were Sask. (players) on the board all around.”

Ziebart was selected one pick after Birdsall.

“That moment was super exciting for Saskatchewan, we’ve been building a pretty solid girls program,” she said. “I think me and Brady getting drafted will be something that those girls can really look up to.”

As the WPBL gets ready for its first season, the women are pioneers who will lay the foundation for years to come.

“I honestly think that’s insane, I’m very excited about that,” Birdsall said. “It’s absolutely incredible and I hope that I can live up to it and prove that I deserve to be there along with Ali Schroeder and all these other amazing baseball people.”

Birdsall and Ziebart both agree the WPBL is starting at the right time.

“Women’s sports has boomed over the last while,” said Birdsall.

“The amount of people that actually tune into the WPBL and saying that they were so excited for the league or that they’re just learning about it, really just creates a place where women can go and prove that they can play a previously male-dominated sport; that there is no limit to what we can or cannot do.”

“I think it’s so important, and I think that as long as everything goes the way the league plans this league should take off,” said Ziebart.

As for if Ziebart or Birdsall ever thought a day like this would come, they both said it was only something they could only ever dream about.

“Honestly I never really thought that I could get this far,” Birdsall said. “I just always had a dream of enjoying the game as it is and just seeing where it took me. So the fact that it took me this far is pretty incredible.”

“If you told me when I was playing ball at five (years old) that this was going to happen I would not believe you,” said Ziebart.

“I thought some of the younger girls that were coming up might have an opportunity like that, but I never thought it would be me that would have that opportunity.”

The first WPBL season gets underway in May.

The league plays a four-week season, with each team playing two games a week. Games will take place in Springfield, Illinois for the first year.

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