17-year-old girl makes baseball history at Cene Park

STRUTHERS, Ohio (WKBN) – Cleveland area 17-year-old pitcher Molly Milligan made Bob Cene Park history as the first girl in the 16U age group to play in a baseball game in the park on Saturday morning.

Milligan plays for the Cleveland travel baseball team the BHM Buckeyes. The team participated in the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series at Cene Park.

“I got into it really as long as I can remember, bat and ball in my hand,” said Milligan. “It’s something I’ve always done. It’s something that no matter what happens, I come back, and I have fun.”

The Buckeyes won the first game against local area Class B team Creekside, 10-1. Then, Creekside won the second game, 5-1.

In game one, Milligan pitched as a reliever in the seventh inning. The Cleveland star recorded one strike-out, gave up zero runs, and a save in the win.

“It’s really cool. It’s really special, especially as I get older, being able to see what I’ve done at camps, helped out and seeing the girls there, there’s not many, but they’re passionate,” said Milligan. “I can kind of go up to them and be like, this is what happens if you stick with it. So, that’s fun.”

Scott Ruark is the NABF tournament director and president of the Youngstown Class B League. He said the NABF League has been playing since 1914.

“Not that I know of — I’ve been around a long time, and not that I know of we’ve ever had a 16-year-old girl play in our league,” said Ruark.

According to Ruark, Milligan is also the first girl in the 16U age group to play in an NABF World Series game.

“Nice to see her come in and make history, get to play and pitch a scoreless inning,” said Ruark.

Milligan will be an incoming Junior at Shaker Heights High School in Fall. The pitcher played her last game of this season’s Summer ball at Cene Park.

The standout pitcher said she plans to continue playing high school baseball.

“I’ve been asked a lot about switching to softball, but I’ve stuck with it, and I’m very glad,” said Milligan. “Thankful for my parents being able to continue to support me, and they never told me, ‘you should switch.’ They were always encouraging it.”

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