
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994                   TAG: 9404060072
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS                                LENGTH: Medium

WOMAN STILL READY TO PLAY HARDBALL

As a college freshman, Julie Croteau became the first woman to play on a men's NCAA baseball team. Five years later, the Virginia woman has landed a spot on the first women's professional baseball team in 40 years.

Croteau, who gained national attention when she played at St. Mary's College in Maryland, was named a first baseman with the Colorado Silver Bullets, a touring team that will play against men's minor-league and semipro players.

"I'm just elated," said Croteau, 23, who was one of 24 players chosen from 1,300 women who tried out nationally. "I think this team will make a big difference for girls who are in the same shoes I grew up in."

The team is the first women's professional squad to be formed since the All-Girls Professional Baseball League - an organization depicted in the movie "A League of Their Own" - folded in the mid-1950s.

But unlike in the earlier era of women's baseball, when the players wore skirts on the diamond and played against female competition, Croteau and her teammates will wear standard baseball uniforms and play only against men.

The team is scheduled to play its first game on Mother's Day, against a semipro all-star team in Charlotte, N.C.

At her Prince William County high school, Croteau sued for the right to play on the varsity baseball team. The suit was rejected by a federal judge who ruled "there is no constitutional right to play ball."

Croteau, who also plays semipro ball in Fredericksburg, said she heard of the Silver Bullets' tryouts in December, and was one of 48 players invited to a preliminary tryout.

The Silver Bullets will be paid $20,000 apiece and are expected to play 50 exhibition games during the summer, according to team officials.

by CNB