For many, baseball is considered an all male sport. But not for a certain sophomore at OHS.

This is the first time that the OHS baseball program has had a female returning player. Ella Strickland (10) grew up playing softball and baseball, and decided to try out for her high school team. Strickland made the freshman team last year, and returned this year to secure a spot on JV.

Many might think that adapting to a team with all boys would be hard, but that’s not the case for her, or her teammates.

“It’s just like having any other teammate,” said pitcher Jacob Frost (10). “She supports everyone, just like anyone else.”

Strickland has been enjoying every minute of the season and loves the team.

“They are like my best friends, I spend all day with them and I couldn’t ask for better friends,” said Strickland.

Even though Strickland doesn’t start every game, she will get playing time here and there. For her, it’s about the experience and being as much of a leader as possible.

“Ella knows the expectations and tells the boys what to expect,” said assistant coach Tyler Picha. “She brings a lot of skill to the team; it’s awesome to see she can play both baseball and softball.”  

In addition to baseball, Strickland has been playing on the varsity softball team for the past two years. She ended her last softball season with a batting average of .471, and was named first team all-conference.

In the meantime, Strickland plans to keep working hard and looks forward to helping her teams in anyway she can.