History was made earlier this month in Springfield, Illinois, as the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) wrapped up its inaugural season with the crowning of a champion – the Los Angeles Queens. Five Women’s National Team alumnae were a part of the Queens’ success: Sarah Edwards (2023), Amira Hondras (2026), Ashton Lansdell (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026), Jamie Mackay (2019), and Meggie Meidlinger (2006, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026).

The inaugural WPBL campaign featured four teams, the Boston Hunters, Los Angeles Queens, New York Heights, and San Francisco Firebells. Each squad played a 15-game regular-season schedule that ran from August 1 to September 6 at Robin Roberts Stadium. All four teams advanced to the playoffs and played a best-of-three series in the semifinals, with the matchups based on seeding. The two semifinal winners, Los Angeles and San Francisco, then played a best-of-five championship series.

Los Angeles used a late rally in Game 1 to defeat San Francisco 7-6, and Mackay shined in the matchup by tossing four shutout frames in relief to go along with a two-hit performance at the plate. Game 2 followed in similar suit with an 11-7 comeback victory by Los Angeles thanks to some help by Meidlinger, who tossed a shutout inning to close out the game. Despite Hondras putting together a pair of multi-hit outings and Mackay launching a two-run home run, San Francisco managed to put up double-digit runs in Games 3 and 4, with results of 10-5 and 17-4, respectively, to even the series at 2-2. In the finale, Los Angeles shut out San Francisco 2-0 behind a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Lansdell to claim the league’s first-ever title.

At the plate, Hondras, Lansdell, and Mackay each collected five hits and combined for seven RBIs in the series. Additionally, Edwards contributed four hits in the series, which was highlighted by a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI and a run scored in Game 1. On the mound, Meidlinger was dominant in relief by tossing a scoreless inning in Game 2 and another two-thirds of an inning in shutout fashion in Game 4. Hondras got the start for her squad in Game 1, while Mackay made a pair of relief appearances in Games 1 and 4.

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