Though planning for this 2020 season has been a logistical nightmare due to the Coronavirus and its ever-changing restrictions and regulations, adult baseball in Central Kentucky is finally back in action, and this year's opening day is an historic one for us in the Lexington Adult Baseball League. Not only are we celebrating 10 years as the only source for organized Adult Baseball in Central Kentucky, but this season marks the first female player is LABL history as well.

Sloan Cromwell, 2B for the Lexington Sluggers, started playing ball at 2 years old. Her long affair with The Game has put her on several lists of firsts for women in Central Kentucky Baseball. Not only is she our first female player, but before that she was the first female baseball player to ever play on a Fayette County High School baseball team, making Dunbar’s baseball team. Despite facing what she describes as sometimes brutal treatment by a small minority in the baseball community, she never let that get in between her and The Game. 

"I won’t lie to you, there have definitely been some tough players and coaches I have had to deal with in the past, but there hasn’t been one person that has stopped me from the playing the game.

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Obstacles I have faced over the years are innumerable. From being called names, taunting by the opposing team, and to receiving nasty stares I have experienced it all. At this point I am not only used to it, but I can hold my own as I always have."

But despite these struggles, the call of The Game kept her on the hook. It wasn't all bad. In fact, it was mostly good. According to Sloan, most coaches and teammates were very supporting and treated her just as they would any other player. She had to earn her spot at every level of play, but that's the game no matter who you are. And she relished in the idea of showing up those who doubted her in a way that only baseball can. When asked about her triumphs in her years of playing ball she noted,

"Along with obstacles I have had many triumphs as well. Other than achieving my dream of making my high school baseball team, one of my favorite memories was on a summer ball team. I was playing in a wood [b]at tournament when it was my turn up to bat. As I approached the plate I heard the opposing coach yell “Alright outfield scoot in! Easy out!” That [fueled] my fire to say the least. After hearing that I was so determined to prove him wrong. Next thing you know I hit a one hopper to centerfield over the CF’s head to get myself an easy double."

Sloan heard about the league through some of her current Sluggers teammates who she played with at various times during her years of playing summer travel ball in high school. Since her years as a collegiate athlete at Transylvania University kept her busy and unable to play ball, she was eager to get back on the dirt and play the game she's loved since she was a little girl. She jumped at the opportunity to have a baseball home again. "I was dying to get back out on the field again."

And on Sunday night in game 2 of a double header, despite not playing since high school Sloan held her own just as she’s always done, going 1-3 against the two-time defending league champion Lexington Stallions, while seeing loads of playing time at 2B and the outfield. And she seems to have enjoyed her debut in the league, offering ample trash talk from the dugout that's familiar to anyone who’s ever been inside the game.

"Sunday was fun. I was definitely a bit rusty, but like riding a bike I’ll pick it back up and show you guys up some more the rest of this season [😉].

I’m excited for this and future seasons. You guys were extremely welcoming to me and it was easily one of my smoothest transitions to a team/league that I’ve experienced."

You can catch Sloan and the rest of the Lexington Adult Baseball League in action this Sunday July 26 at Scott County High School in Georgetown, KY.

Photo by Clinton Riddle.