Anchorage Daily News

A ponytail swished from the back of a baseball helmet; a pink-gloved hand swept away bangs from a girlish face after a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt.

The Pirates, an all-girls baseball team, were playing the Rockies -- all boys -- Monday night at Smith Fields in Wasilla. After leading by a run early, the Pirates trailed 19-7 in the third inning. They would go on to lose 22-9 in a five-inning game cut short because of the lopsided score.

Pirates players could not have cared less. After all, the last time they played the Rockies they lost 33-5.

Afterward, wearing black uniforms and bright yellow socks, they patiently lined up for interviews, as if waiting to buy movie tickets. They beamed enthusiastically. The score was an afterthought.

"The guys get cocky and they always think they're always going to win," said 11-year-old Johnna Elkins, the team's catcher.

"They do always win!" piped in Teresa Kennedy, 13.

"But we turn out to be way awesomer than they expect, and that blows their minds," Elkins said.

The Pirates are in their first year playing in the Wasilla Youth Baseball/Softball League. The team of 11-, 12- and 13-year old girls competes against teams made up almost exclusively of boys (some girls opt to play with the boys, rather than against). The boys are ages 11-12.

The Pirates started out last year as a softball team. But there was only one other softball team at their age level in the Valley to play against. Entering this season, it looked as if the Pirates might have to disband.

That's when 12-year-old Ambriel Sandone came up with an idea. Why not just play baseball? Last season, the Pirates played occasional exhibition games against younger boys baseball teams. Sandone thought the girls could just kick softball and go to baseball permanently.

So she wrote a letter to the Wasilla Youth Baseball/Softball League, asking that the Pirates be allowed to play in the WYBSL's PONY League. Unlike Little League at that age, PONY (Protect Our Nation's Youth) Leagues use Major League Baseball rules -- leadoffs and metal cleats are allowed, and there are no restrictions on stealing bases.

The board agreed, and the Pirates have been playing hardball since -- literally.

"It's a lot of fun messing with (the boys)," said 11-year-old Destiny Rhyne. "It's easy to get inside their minds. We talk a lot of, somewhat, smack."

The Pirates are also getting dirty and playing hurt, just like the boys. They dirtied their uniforms sliding into home. Elkins blocked the plate and made the tag to prevent a run from scoring. Shortstop Ashley Turcotte, 11, earlier this season broke a finger trying to field a bad-hop grounder.

The Pirates own a 1-12 record but have improved immensely, said coach Gene Sandone, Ambriel's dad.

And they don't let their record get them down.

"We've only won one game, but they take the little victories to the max," said Sandone, a former Wasilla High head baseball coach. "If they score a run, it's like they won the championship. They're doing cartwheels on the field."

A few players, including Elkins and Sandone, have played baseball for years. Others are pulling on a baseball glove for the first time. A few, like Carli Trout, have extensive softball backgrounds.

Trout, 13, moved recently from Snyder, Texas, and has been playing softball since she was 4. Learning to throw the smaller baseball was confusing at first. So was playing against boys.

"At first it was a little weird, but a competitor is a competitor," she said.

Cathy Trout, Carli's mom, is thrilled her daughter is playing baseball. She said Carli's older brother played junior college baseball in Texas.

After the Pirates won a game, boys teams began taking them a little more seriously, Cathy Trout said.

"They don't cut them any slack," she said while watching from the stands on a sunlit evening. "They go after them. They don't seem to back down."

Konrad Schruf's 13-year-old daughter Hannah is on the team. His younger son Luke is a pitcher on another PONY League team. He's faced his sister twice.

"The first time, she walked. The second time, she about took his head off with a line drive," Schruf said. "It's a big day around our house when they have to play each other. Can't-miss games."

Schruf said Hannah also enjoys hockey. That used to be her main sport, but baseball has taken over.

"With softball, it was 'Ho hum,' " he said. "But once it became boys against girls, it was game on."

Macaela Wolfe, 13, apparently didn't let dad Randy know that the Pirates would be playing against boys.

"I thought it was some kind of all-girls league," he said. "I got to the first game and said, 'Wait a minute.' "

But Wolfe doesn't care if his daughter is competing against boys. And Macaela isn't bothered by the lopsided scores.

"She doesn't care if they're losing by 20, she's still in a good mood," he said. "As long as she's having fun, that's what matters."

Find Ron Wilmot online at adn.com/contact/rwilmot or call 352-6712.

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