Female Pitcher Warms Up, But Call Doesn’t Come

Ila Borders waited 12 years for a chance to play professional baseball. Another day or two won’t bother her.

Borders, who will become the first woman to pitch in a regular-season minor league game when she makes her first appearance for the St. Paul Saints, didn’t get in Friday night’s season-opening 8-5 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries.

“You’re always hoping to get in there and play,” said Borders, the only Saints player signing autographs after the game. “I’m just glad we won, and I’m just happy to be part of the St. Paul Saints.”

Some of the 3,122 fans at Sioux Falls Stadium chanted “Ila! Ila!” in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Borders, a left-handed reliever, warmed up in the top of the ninth alongside Jason Schlutt, another lefty.

Schlutt got the call in the bottom of the ninth, and Borders remained a spectator. When Borders does pitch, the Los Angeles Dodgers have asked for a ticket to commemorate the game; the Saints and Canaries play again tonight and Sunday.

Borders, at 22 the youngest player on the independent Saints’ roster, dreamed of playing pro baseball since she first took up the game as a 10-year-old in Whittier, Calif. She was the MVP of her high school team and was the first woman to accept a college baseball scholarship when she enrolled at NAIA Southern California College in 1994.

She played three seasons there before finishing at NCAA Division III Whittier College this season, going 4-5 with a 5.22 ERA.

The Saints gave her a tryout, and she learned Wednesday she had made the team after allowing six runs on six hits in three innings during the four-game exhibition season.

She has received considerable media attention since training camp began May 15, with two Japanese publications following her since then. Borders has been overwhelmed at times - “I brought it on myself,” she said - and has spent time reading biographies about Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Frances Farmer.

Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier 50 years ago, Keller lost her sight as a young girl and Farmer struggled throughout her career as an actress to find her identity. Borders was quick to say she was not comparing herself to any of the three, but hoped to learn from their experiences.

“If I can grab stuff and see people who have gone through what they went through, then maybe that can help me out,” Borders said.