PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A girl with a passion for baseball is breaking norms on her high school baseball team.
Only a freshman at Plantation High School, 14-year-old Madelyn Saven is now serving as the only girl on the school’s all-boy baseball team.
“I tried playing softball and was really good at it, but it was not the passion. The passion is here, on this field … and it’s just for the love of the game,” Madelyn said. “I know I’m the only one. I know what I put myself into. People are gonna hate me, people are gonna love me, so I know what I put myself into.”
Robert Saven, Madelyn’s father said he noticed his daughter’s talent with baseball at a young age at his batting cages. “When she was 3, she was on the field playing with my son, and the culture was hitting round balls to the infield, and there was a roll pit and she just caught it and knew from that point on, she was able to handle herself.”
According to her coach and teammates, Madelyn has earned her spot on the team.
“She loves the game of baseball, she won’t touch a softball,” said Plantation High Head Coach Manny Aguilar, “so I took on the challenge and said, ‘Yeah, bring her out. Let’s see what she has.’ She stood up to the challenge and accepted a role on the team.”
“She’s honestly one of the best players on the team,” said teammate Antonio Cabrera. “She has great hands as a baseball player. Considering she’s a freshman, she’s pretty good.”
“She’s probably gonna be hitting in the seventh, maybe eighth [spot] — varsity-wise,” Aguilar said. “You know, physically, she has to come around. She’s still adjusting to high school baseball, but definitely, opening day, starting second baseman for my varsity baseball team.”
Despite the welcome response to the team, Madelyn said she doesn’t know how her presence will be gauged by the community.
“Honestly, I don’t know what the reaction’s going to be. It’s either going to be good or bad. I mean, if I play good, they’re gonna say ‘Damn. That girl’s good,'” Madelyn said. “I worked hard, and this is what I got, so if I work hard, good things are gonna happen.”
Either way, Madelyn is being praised as one of the best players on the team.
“She’s probably my best defensive glove on the field,” said Aguilar.
“He’s probably right. She definitely is the best defensive player on the field,” Cabrera said. “She can take over any position, anywhere.”
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