Olivia Pichardo becomes first woman to play in an NCAA Division 1 baseball game

Brown freshman Olivia Pichardo became the first woman to appear in a Division I baseball game when she beat Bryant 10-1 on Friday.

A left-handed batting utility player from Queens, New York, walked to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and the first out on the first pitch at Murray Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island.

Pichardo was an outfielder and pitcher on the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, which won three of five games against Team Canada last summer. She moved on to Brown in the fall, and coach Grant Achilles told her she earned a roster spot in November.

Pichardo played club ball in the New York area and completed an internship with the New York Mets’ amateur scouting department last year. She played basketball and volleyball at Garden School before attending Brown.

About half a dozen women are known to play baseball at junior colleges or lower division four-year schools. gave The NCAA said According to her website, Pichardo is one of eight women on a college baseball roster this season, but the only one playing at the Division 1 level.