At Coutin, Diamond Is the Girls’ Best Friend

Coutin School does not have a high school softball team, which at most schools might prevent girls from fielding grounders or swinging a bat.

Not so at Coutin, a private school with a high school enrollment of 60.

At Coutin, the girls adjust. They play baseball, an option taken by Nicole Mikolajewski, Alexi Glasman and Chloe Halperin.

Mikolajewski, a junior in her third season on the baseball team, pitches and plays third base. Her success last season convinced Glasman, a sophomore second baseman, and Halperin, a junior outfielder, that they could play hardball this year.

Glasman, a certified lifeguard, said the girls aren’t always shown much respect from opposing outfielders.

“They scoot up when we’re up to bat and then [the ball] goes over their heads,” Glasman said. “They make errors all the time and then when we make our plays, they’re like, ‘Those girls are better than us.’ ”

Well, maybe sometimes.

Mikolajewski is batting .150. She is 0-3 with a 6.50 earned-run average and eight strikeouts in 16 innings.

But statistics aside, the magic of the national pastime is not lost.

“If I ever have kids, I’m teaching them baseball,” Mikolajewski said. “I like it better than softball. It gives you more confidence.”

Coutin’s team practices less than an hour a day and the team has a record of 1-13, but Coach Al Sanderson likes what he sees.

“They’re young and we struggle on the field but they’re still willing to comply and learn,” Sanderson said. “The most incredible thing is that they’re still enthusiastic.”

Senior Nick Gallop, Coutin’s pitcher in a 22-17 victory over Pacific Christian last week, said the girls are welcome on the team.

“They’re just as good as any other player,” he said. “Probably better.”