Bay Area's Female Baseball Players Swinging For The Fences

Kelsie Whitmore became the first of two female players to sign their contracts with the Stompers on Wednesday, and was across the field from female baseball pioneer Justin Siegal on Wednesday night.

Tim Livingston/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: KTVU 2 - FOX

This is a history-making week for the Bay Area's professional baseball organizations as two female players debut and another woman takes a managerial stint. 
 
The Pacific Baseball Association is made up of four teams in San Rafael, Sonoma, Vallejo and Pittsburg. 
 
"I would always want girls to follow what I'm doing, because if they love it, why not?" said Kelsie Whitmore, 17, who played high school baseball in Temecula. 
 
Now, she's playing for the Sonoma Stompers until she starts college in the fall.  
 
"I never expected to get a call like this, so it's very exciting," she said.
 
Kelsie suited up for Wednesday night's game against the San Rafael Pacifics, but won't take the field until the team's Friday night home game.  
 
Helming the Pacifics is Justine Siegal, who has thrown batting practice to a half dozen Major League squads and is taking over as San Rafael's skipper for two games. 
 
"I've been training to be a coach since I was 16," said Siegal, who is now 41 years old.  "And this is a wonderful team, very professional."  
 
The women greeted each other pre-game with a hug. They are among a select few females in the sport: one a trailblazer, the other and up-and-comer. 
 
Kelsey never detoured to softball as most girls do. 
 
As the only girl playing among guys, she weathered stares and snickers over the years. 
 
"The pressure and being looked at that way can be intimidating," she admitted. 
 
But she's always let hard work and performance speak for her. Her new Sonoma teammates were quickly won over.    
 
"There were a few jokes and some eye-rolling when I told them she was coming," Stompers General Manager Theo Fightmaster said. "But once she got here they realized this is a ball player."     
 
Kelsey will take the field Friday alongside a second new female player: Stacy Piagno, 25, who is also a member of the women's national team that won gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games.   
 
The team message? Baseball can be inclusive without losing its zing.    
 
"Let's find the best woman baseball players in this country and then give them the opportunity," said Fightmaster, "and of the five or six girls that we scouted, Kelsey and Stacy are the cream of the crop." 
 
Over her athletic career, Justine Siegal has learned how important visibility is. 
 
"It's hard to show what you can do when nobody gives you the opportunity, " she said.    
 
Siegal is a baseball veteran with a PhD in sports psychology. She said she would relish the opportunity to join a coaching roster in the MLB.
 
But just like young players steered into softball, she said some barriers are hard to overcome.   
 
"First, there's that tradition where people don't think about it (and) don't ask 'why aren't girls playing baseball?'" Siegal said, "and then second, you have to provide that opportunity." 
 
Siegal started a non-profit organization 20 years ago called Baseball For All, which encourages more girls in the sport.  
 
She'll host a tournament in San Francisco from July 23-28 in conjunction with the city's recreation and parks department. She is encouraging interested girls to sign up.   

Meet The First Co-Ed Baseball Team In Over 60 Years

Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno are making history with the Sonoma Stompers, who have signed the two USA Women's National team members to contracts. They will start for Sonoma July 1st.

JP Raineri/Rob Furtrell

Originally Published: The Huffington Post

Thomas Lipe, Sports Department Intern

The Sonoma Stompers, a baseball team in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, has just done something not seen in pro baseball since the 1950s: They have signed two female players.

The Stompers announced on Tuesday that they signed 17-year-old outfielder and pitcher Kelsie Whitmore and 25-year-old pitcher Stacy Piagno. Whitmore and Piagno, who respectively graduated from Temecula Valley High School and the University of Tampa, will also be teammates on Team USA at the upcoming Women’s Baseball World Cup in Japan.

In its press release, the team announced it would become the first co-ed professional baseball team since Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson and Constance Morgan joined the Negro American League‘s Indianapolis Clowns in the 1950s. 

“We hope this sends a message to the rest of the baseball world that there is room for women and girls in this game — from Little League to the Major Leagues,” Stompers GM Theo Fightmaster said in a release.

The move by the Stompers comes just after the one-year anniversary of France’s 16-year-old Melissa Mayeux becoming the first woman on the MLB’s international registration list. Whitmore and Piagno will be in uniform for the first time on Friday, July 1.

Sonoma Stompers Make History By Signing Two Women To Professional Baseball Team

Arnold Field will be the site for a historic evening on Friday when the Sonoma Stompers start two female players at People's Home Equity Ballpark.

Ben Lindbergh/Sonoma Stompers, FiveThirtyEight

Originally Published: The Comeback

Harry Lyles, Jr., Contributor

For just the third time since the 1950s, a United States professional baseball team will have women on its roster. The Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs have signed Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno, who will both make their debuts on July 1 when the team faces off against the San Rafael Pacifics.

This isn’t the first time the Stompers are making the news for the signing of a player. Last year, the Stompers made news when pitcher Sean Conroy became the first openly gay player to play at the professional ranks.

Theo Fightmaster, GM of the Stompers, told the Sonoma Index-Tribune that there should be more opportunities for women in sports:

“We hope this sends a message to the rest of the baseball world that there is room for women and girls in this game — from Little League to the Major Leagues,” he said.

The pair will be playing for Team USA in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in South Korea. Whitmore is attending Cal State Fullerton next season on a softball scholarship, and Piagno played softball at the University of Tampa.

It’s great to see women getting a fair shake in sports, and these two are certainly helping pave the way for future women.

Independent Baseball Team Makes History Signing Two Women To Roster

Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno will join the Sonoma Stompers and start for them on Friday, July 1st.

JP Raineri/Rob Furtrell

Originally Published: CBSSports.com

Matt Snyder, CBS Sports Writer

The Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs will make history by adding two women players to their roster beginning on July 1, per the team's official website.

The players: Kelsie Whitmore, 17, a pitcher/outfielder from Temecula, Calif. and Stacy Piagno, 25, a pitcher/infielder from St. Augustine, Fla.

The sponsor of the Stompers? "Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola's Virginia Dare Winery.

Coppola released the following statement, via pressdemocrat.com:

"In an effort to promote the recruitment, development and advancement of women in baseball," an announcement from the director's company said, the team began " ... searching for the best women baseball players in the United States to come and join the team."

"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.
"When watching major league baseball, I always wondered why there couldn't be a co-ed team. It's the one major sport in which weight and strength come less into play. So when my Sonoma (County) winery became involved with the Stompers, I had the opportunity to turn this thought into a reality and recruit these amazing women capable of playing alongside men."

Whitmore graduated from the California Baseball Academy and has a softball scholarship at Cal State Fullerton. Piagno won a gold medal in the 2015 Pan Am Games with the U.S. women's baseball team -- yes, baseball -- and threw a no-hitter in the event.

Both women are also on Team USA for the Women's Baseball World Cup, which takes place in South Korea this year, beginning in September (via newyorkdailynews.com).
The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent league and has no affiliation with either Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball.

Pro Baseball Team Makes History With Signing Of Two Players

Kelsie Whitmore will be one of two female players to start for the Sonoma Stompers on Friday, along with USA Women's National teammate Stacy Piagno.

USA Today Photo Services

Originally Published: USA Today Sports

Alysha Tsuji, For The Win

The Sonoma Stompers, a team in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, are making history this week. On Friday, two women  will be signed to their roster and, per the press release, will start in the team’s game vs. the San Rafael Pacifics.

Kelsie Whitmore, 17, and Stacy Piagno, 25, are the two that the Stompers scouted. Both play for Team USA women’s baseball team, and both intend to play in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in South Korea in September.

As noted by the Stompers, this “will be the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950s when Toni Stone, Mamie ‘Peanu’ Johnson and Constance Morgan achieved the distinction of becoming the first women to play alongside men in the Negro Leagues.”

Whitmore (outfielder/pitcher) just graduated from Temecula Valley High School and will play softball for Cal State Fullerton next season. Piagno (pitcher) played softball for the University of Tampa and graduated in 2013.

The two were on the same team when the U.S. won gold in the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto in which Piagno threw a no-hitter.

The Stompers’ GM, Theo Fightmaster said in the press release:

“While many believe it’s only a matter of time before we see a woman playing in the MLB, I’ve learned over the past several months that there are many steps in between where we are and where we should be in terms of women in this sport. We hope this sends a message to the rest of the baseball world that there is room for women and girls in this game – from Little League to the Major Leagues.”

This announcement comes almost exactly one year after 16-year-old Melissa Mayeux became the first female player to make MLB’s international eligibility list.

Independent League Club To Sign And Start Two Female Players

Kelsie Whitmore is one of two women that have signed with the Sonoma Stompers.

Tim Livingston/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: Yahoo! Sports

Chris Cwik, Big League Stew

For the first time in over 50 years, a professional baseball team will have multiple women in its starting lineup. The Sonoma Stompers, an independent league team in the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, will sign and start two women prior to Friday’s game.

The Stompers put out a release Tuesday announcing the club had worked with Francis Ford Coppola’s Virginia Dare Winery “in an effort to promote the recruitment, development and advancement of women in baseball.”

On Wednesday, the team made it official, signing 17-year-old outfielder/pitcher Kelsie Whitmore. The team is also signing 25-year-old pitcher/infielder Stacy Piagno. Both players will be in the starting lineup when the team takes the field Friday against the San Rafael Pacifics.

Whitmore recently graduated from Temecula Valley High School, and has a softball scholarship to Cal State Fullerton next year. Piagno played softball at the University of Tampa, but more recently helped the United States national baseball team capture the gold medal in the 2015 Pan Am Games. During the tournament, Piagno threw a no-hitter against Puerto Rico.

Both players will play for Team USA in the 2016 Women’s Baseball World Cup, according to the Stompers.

With the signing, the Stompers will become the first baseman team since the 1950s to have multiple women on a team. Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Constance Morgan all played beside men in the Negro Leagues, according to the release.

Breaking new ground is familiar for the Stompers. Last season, Stompers pitcher Sean Conroy became the first openly gay active baseball player. Conroy came out just before the team celebrated Pride Night, started that game and tossed a complete-game shutout.

While it’s not common, it is possible for players in the Pacific League to get signed by major-league clubs. In May, the Milwaukee Brewers signed pitcher Santos Saldivar. Saldivar pitched for the Stompers during the 2015 and was featured in the book “The Only Rule is it Has to Work,” written by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller.

Whether or not this opportunity leads to the first woman playing in the majors remains to be seen. But the signings of Whitmore and Piagno seem like a significant step as far as that’s concerned. No matter what happens, Friday should be a historic day for baseball.

In Historic Move, Two Female Players Signed By Minor League Baseball Team

Team USA Members Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno join the Sonoma Stompers on Friday, creating the first true co-ed baseball team in over 60 years.

JP Raineri/Rob Futrell

Originally Published: The Washington Post

Des Bieler, Columnist

According to the Sonoma Stompers, there hasn’t been a co-ed professional baseball team since three women played in the 1950’s Negro Leagues. The northern California-based independent squad recently made note of this when announcing that it would become the first team since then to include female players in its lineup.

When the Stompers take the field on Friday, Kelsie Whitmore, a 17-year-old outfielder/pitcher, and Stacy Piagno, a 25-year-old pitcher/infielder, will be in their starting lineup. Whitmore will be in left field and Piagno will take the mound.

According to the Stompers’ general manager, this is no publicity stunt. The two women will remain with the team indefinitely, and, immediate starts aside, will have to earn their playing time.

“This isn’t a one-day event,” Sonoma GM Theo Fightmaster told MLB.com. “That’s been done a dozen times. Let’s give women a chance to be part of a team, let’s give women a chance to play against men. What will they learn? What have they not been coached because they haven’t had the same coaching as boys? I remember being really disappointed with my sister’s coaches because they coached the girls a lot different than how I was coached.”

“They’re going to play however much they earn,” Fightmaster added. “They are not going to be in the starting lineup every night so we can sell more tickets. It’s a big game on July 1 and they’ll both be in the lineup, and after that we’ll see what their performance dictates.”

If this sounds like it has the makings of a Hollywood movie, then it might not be completely surprising that the impetus for the signings came from a legendary director: Francis Ford Coppola. His winery, Virginia Dare, entered into a partnership with the nearby team, and Coppola pitched the idea to Fightmaster.

“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,” Coppola said in a statement. “When watching Major League Baseball, I always wondered why there couldn’t be a co-ed team. It’s the one major sport in which weight and strength come less into play. So when my Sonoma winery became involved with the Stompers, I had the opportunity to turn this thought into a reality and recruit these amazing women capable of playing alongside men.”

“When Francis tells you to try, you try,” Fightmaster told MLB.com.

Both Whitmore and Piagno are set to play for Team USA this fall in the Womens’ Baseball World Cup, which will be held in South Korea. Whitmore, who recently graduated from high school, will also attend Cal State Fullerton on a softball scholarship. Piagno, who no-hit Puerto Rico at the 2015 Pan Am Games, was a college softball player at the University of Tampa.

Even though the Stompers came into existence in 2014, this is not the first time they have made history. That year, former MLB star Bill Lee started a game for Sonoma and became, at age 67, the oldest person to get a professional win.

In 2015, Stompers pitcher Sean Conroy became the first openly gay professional baseball player. He made his first start on the team’s Pride Night, throwing a complete game shutout as his teammates wore rainbow-striped socks.

“While many believe it’s only a matter of time before we see a woman playing in the MLB, I’ve learned over the past several months that there are many steps in between where we are and where we should be in terms of women in this sport,” Fightmaster said in a statement. “We hope this sends a message to the rest of the baseball world that there is room for women and girls in this game – from Little League to the Major Leagues.”

Sonoma Stompers Adding Two Women To Roster

The Sonoma Stompers have added two women to the roster: Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno. The duo will start for the team on Friday night in a home game at People's Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field.

Rick Bolen/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: The Press Democrat

Lori A. Carter, Reporter

Two female players will join the Sonoma Stompers professional baseball team in July, adding to the list of barriers the Sonoma team has broken.

The Stompers, part of the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, will be the first coed professional baseball team since the 1950s when Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Constance Morgan became the first women to play along men in the Negro Leagues, according to the club.

Starting July 1, 17-year-old outfielder-pitcher Kelsie Whitmore of Temecula and 25-year-old pitcher-infielder Stacy Piagno of St. Augustine, Fla., will suit up with the other Stompers.

The visiting San Rafael Pacifics visit for three games, followed by the Pittsburg Diamonds.

Last year, the Stompers made international news when pitcher Sean Conroy became the first openly gay player to ever play at the professional level. He remains with the Stompers.

In 2014, the year the team began, former Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos left-handed pitcher, Bill “Spaceman” Lee threw for the Stompers, becoming the oldest player to win a professional baseball game.

The move to go co-ed comes in part from a sponsorship the team has entered into with Francis Ford Coppola’s Virginia Dare Winery in Geyserville.
 
Openly gay player making historic start for Sonoma Stompers
“In an effort to promote the recruitment, development and advancement of women in baseball,” an announcement from the director’s company said, the team began “ … searching for the best women baseball players in the United States to come and join the team.”

“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,” Coppola said in the announcement.

“When watching major league baseball, I always wondered why there couldn’t be a co-ed team. It’s the one major sport in which weight and strength come less into play. So when my Sonoma (County) winery became involved with the Stompers, I had the opportunity to turn this thought into a reality and recruit these amazing women capable of playing alongside men.”

Theo Fightmaster, Stompers’ general manager, said there should be more opportunities for women to join the sport professionally.

“We hope this sends a message to the rest of the baseball world that there is room for women and girls in this game — from Little League to the Major Leagues,” he said.

In September, Whitmore and Piagno are set 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, played softball at the University of Tampa.

The Stompers opened the season May 31 and were 13-10 going into Tuesday’s game against the Pacifics.

Games begin at 6 p.m. at Arnold Field in Sonoma. For tickets and more information: www.stompersbaseball.com.

The Sonoma Stompers Are Set To Make More History By Signing Two Women To Their Roster

Kelsie Whitmore signs her professional contract with the Sonoma Stompers on Wednesday. She and Stacy Piagno will make their debuts with the Stompers on Friday.

Tim Livingston/Sonoma Stompers

Originally Published: MLB.com

Michael Clair, Cut4

The world of independent baseball is filled with unique promotions and even stranger giveaways. For the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association, they're a bit more forward-thinking than a simple bobblehead or cat video festival, though. Last year they became the first team to cede control to a couple of sabermetrically inclined baseball writers and were the first team to have an openly gay professional player on their roster. 

While many teams host LGBTQ pride nights, the Stompers celebrated theirs by moving Sean Conroy from the bullpen to the rotation -- his teammates wearing rainbow-colored socks and armbands in support.

Now they'll be the first professional team to have women on the field since Toni Stone, Mamie "Peanut" Johnson and Constance Morgan played in the Negro Leagues back in the 1950s. 

On Friday, July 1, when the Stompers take on the San Rafael Pacifics, 17-year-old Kelsie Whitmore will start in left field while 25-year-old Stacy Piagno will take the mound, armed with a knuckle-curve, slider and fastball.

But don't think this is just a one-game stunt. Theo Fightmaster, the brilliantly named GM for the Stompers, told MLB.com in a phone call:

"This isn't a one-day event. That's been done a dozen times. Let's give women a chance to be part of a team, let's give women a chance to play against men. What will they learn? What have they not been coached because they haven't had the same coaching as boys? I remember being really disappointed with my sister's coaches because they coached the girls a lot different than how I was coached." 

He hopes that this is just the start of a women's baseball movement. While other countries like Japan have girls high school baseball, that simply doesn't exist in America. "There's not enough places or ways for women to play baseball in this country," Fightmaster says. "Women get funneled into softball -- if they want to play baseball, they end up playing softball." 

As for how the two players made it to the team, that's all thanks to Francis Ford Coppola. Really. Fightmaster admits that while he grew up with his mom being the baseball fan in the house and his sister starring on the varsity baseball team, he likely would not have thought of this on his own.

During a meeting with Coppola and his wife at their vineyard in Geyserville, Calif., the director told Fightmaster of his hope to have co-ed baseball teams. Though the Stompers GM told Coppola how "crazy and difficult this was going to be," Coppola still wanted to try and the two made made a deal to put out a three-year search to make it happen. "When Francis tells you to try, you try," Fightmaster said. 

From there, the Stompers GM dove into the world of women's baseball. A friend who scouts for the D-backs put the Stompers in touch with Justine Siegal, the first female coach in the Majors. Soon Fightmaster was on a plane to see the 17-year-old Whitmore in a high school game. Though Fightmaster was skeptical at first, he was easily swayed. 

"After spending five minutes with Kelsie and shaking her hand, watching her throw and watching her be around with the guys, I was really comfortable," he said.

It was even easier once he saw her on the field. With a runner on second base, Fightmaster watched Whitmore field a grounder in left field. Rather than send the runner, the third-base coach already knew and respected Whitmore's arm and held the runner at third. It was a smart call. "She threw a one-hop throw to the catcher and the guy would have been dead to rights," Fightmaster said. 

After Whitmore took a pitch to the ribs and was "spitting up blood" while at first base during her next at-bat, Fightmaster says he "knew she was tough, knew she had a strong arm. She moved like a baseball player and had a good head on her shoulders."

The Stompers' scouting mission next sent them to the U.S. Women's National Team tryouts in Cary, N.C., where they spotted Piagno. While there were a number of women the team was interested in -- with players like Malaika Underwood and Tamara Holmes -- a number of them had jobs and careers they couldn't interrupt to "sign up for some independent pro team and move to the West Coast for the next 90 days or whatever it may be."

Not even on their shortlist, once they saw Piagno displaying a good arm while playing third base -- and saw that she had no-hit Puerto Rico at the Pan American Games -- they were quickly intrigued. 

As for how both women will do in the Pacific Association, Fightmaster can't say. "I've never seen [Piagno] pitch against grown men," he said. "It was girls and aluminum bats and it was a different environment." After getting their first starts on July 1, their roles (with Whitmore likely to get a chance on the mound) will be decided based on their performance. 

"Both of these girls are on the roster," Fightmaster said. "They're gonna play however much they earn. They are not gonna be in the starting lineup every night so we can sell more tickets. It's a big game on July 1 and they'll both be in the lineup and after that we'll see what their performance dictates."

No matter the outcome, Piagno and Whitmore aren't the end of the Stompers' foray into women's baseball. With the two leaving at the end of July -- Piagno to start her teaching career and Whitmore on a softball scholarship to Cal-State Fullerton -- Fightmaster said, "There's a couple more women we'd like to bring out throughout the season."

With at least a three-year endeavor with Coppola, Fightmaster hopes to "find a couple more women who come to us and say, 'Hey I've always wanted to play baseball and never had the chance. But here, I have this left-handed knuckleball that no one can hit in my men's league team that I play on.' That's the dream for me -- we start letting women and girls realize there's room for them in the game."

Sonoma Stompers Make History By Signing Two Women To Professional Team

Stacy Piagno celebrates with her USA Women's National Baseball teammates.

Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports

Originally Published: SB Nation

Catherine Slonskis, MLB National Reporter

A United States professional baseball team will carry women on its roster for just the third time since the 1950s. In this instance, not one, but two women have signed with the Sonoma Stompers, who are in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs. Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno will make their debut on July 1 and will be in the starting lineup against the San Rafael Pacifics.

Signing a woman to an all-male baseball team has been a delicate topic in the past. The game is played differently than with softball -- pitches are harder, the ball is smaller, pitchers throw from a mound instead of flat ground, and fields are larger than a softball field. Yet, Whitmore and Piagno have held their own and shown an ability to play at the same level as a professional baseball team -- thus, the signing.

Both ladies can pitch, though for Whitmore her primary position is as an outfielder. In Piagno's case, she pitches right-handed, in addition to playing on the infield. The former is on a softball scholarship with Cal State Fullerton next season following her graduation from the California Baseball Academy. Piagno was on the 2015 U.S. women's national baseball team for last year's Pan American Games when the team took home the Gold Medal.

This year, Whitmore (17 years old) and Piagno (25) are on the Team USA roster for the upcoming Women’s Baseball World Cup in South Korea in early September. Until then, though, they will be the first players on a professional co-ed baseball team since Eri Yoshida pitched in the Golden Baseball League in 2010.

Before Yoshida, Ila Borders pitched in a minor league game in 1997, and Toni Stone, Mamie Johnson and Constance Morgan played with the Negro Leagues in the '50s.

"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," team owner and movie director Francis Ford Coppola said in the press release. "When watching Major League Baseball, I always wondered why there couldn't be a co-ed team. It's the one major sport in which weight and strength come less into play.

"So when my Sonoma winery became involved with the Stompers, I had the opportunity to turn this thought into a reality and recruit these amazing women capable of playing alongside men."

The only other female who currently plays baseball on any professional level is French baseball player Melissa Mayeux. Last year she became the first woman ever to be added to the MLB international registration list -- making her eligible to be signed by any MLB team.

Whitmore has also played every position, including goalkeeper, for her Golden Bears varsity soccer team. She has played baseball -- not softball -- since the age of 7. As for Piagno, she's been facing the "she's not good enough" argument since before her junior year of high school. Eventually, she overcome the naysayers and went on to throw a medal-winning no-hitter at the Pan American Games last year.