Professional women’s baseball is coming to Springfield this weekend.
The first games of the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s inaugural season will take place Saturday and Sunday at Robin Roberts Stadium.
Starting 5 p.m. Saturday, the Los Angeles Queens will take on the New York Heights. Then, at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the San Francisco Firebells will go head-to-head against the Boston Hunters. Ticket sales have been strong for the opening game, having sold out.
All games of the league’s first season will take place in Springfield. The season will run through early September and be followed by playoffs.
The Women’s Pro Baseball League is the fifth professional league for women’s baseball in U.S. history. Its first season will begin 71 years after the closure of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was immortalized in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”
League organizers previously said that Springfield was chosen for its inaugural season because of its proximity to cities like Chicago and St. Louis, as well as the fact it was the site of the first professional women’s baseball game in 1875.
To help put on the season, the league will be partnering with a Springfield insurance company. The league announced Tuesday that Horace Mann Educators is its founding partner and official multiline insurance and financial services partner.
With Horace Mann, the league will celebrate Teacher & Educator Appreciation Nights each Wednesday during the regular season. Any teacher who presents a valid school ID will receive two free tickets.
