Breaking Down Barriers
June 14, 2022 | Softball
Breaking down gender barriers in baseball.
That’s what Carolina softball players Kayla Baptista and Kianna Jones have been doing this summer.
Baptista, a sophomore from Smithfield, R.I, spent last summer as an intern with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League. She was the first-ever female on-field coach in the 59-year history of the league.
The connections she made helped land her a position with the Texas Rangers as a player development coach, starting the summer in Arizona, before spending a week in the Dominican Republic. Baptista is now preparing to travel to other Ranger affiliate teams in North Carolina and Texas.
From TONS of Spanish, cage time, IF/OF work, classrooms, making hitting vids & muchas bombas ?? LOTS of dancing, singing, laughs & El Alfa
— Kayla Baptista (@kbappy3) June 12, 2022
It’s been fun coaching these young men & working with this staff. The DR definitely holds a special place in my heart??#teamazul #showup?? pic.twitter.com/Agdc2DtjDL
On June 2, Baptista served as the Rangers’ first base coach in an extended spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate, becoming the first female base coach in organization’s history.
Yesterday, Kayla Baptista served as our First Base Coach in an Extended Spring Training game against the Dodgers at Surprise Stadium, becoming the first female base coach in organization’s history!
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 3, 2022
Congrats, @kbappy3! pic.twitter.com/tsvsYCEZrz
“I feel blessed,” Baptista said. “This is a dream. Waking up and working in baseball. It doesn’t even feel like work.”
Closer to home, sophomore Kianna Jones is spending her summer with the Macon Bacon, a wooden bat collegiate summer baseball team of the Coastal Plain League.
Jones was hired as a bench coach for the summer and on May 30 she took over head coaching duties for the Bacon’s game against Forest City. Jones led the Bacon to an 8-5 win, becoming the first acting female head coach in the history of Summer League Baseball to record a victory.
The plate meeting makes it official: Kianna is the first female head coach in Summer League Baseball history #WomenInSports pic.twitter.com/vrfF5PvJuA
— Macon Bacon ?? (@GoMaconBacon) May 31, 2022
“Grateful is definitely an understatement,” Jones said. “It has exceeded all expectations I’ve had. Everyone has been so supportive, inviting, and open to having me around. They’re very receptive to all ideas that I have shared and helped show me the ropes. I’ve learned so much in a short period of time and it’s all thanks to the great coaching staff and head office.”
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