Facing men in Maui was highlight for women baseball pioneers

By JAKE SEINER
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Beanie Ketcham and Julie Croteau are believed to have been the first women to play in a league affiliated with Major League Baseball when they were invited to join the Maui Stingrays of the now defunct Hawaiian Winter League in 1994. Nearly three decades later, Kelsie Whitmore has followed their lead, cracking the roster for the Atlantic League’s Staten Island FerryHawks. Ketcham and Croteau remember being overmatched at times but proud of their showing against Class A and Double-A minor leaguers. Ketcham struck out future big leaguer Aaron Boone while pitching for Maui, and Croteau was 1 for 12 at the plate.