For one night, League Stadium returns to A League of Their Own

This is part of a series of stories we are doing in partnership with Visit Dubois County.

Paige Kendall’s perspective always shifts when she steps onto the field at League Stadium for the annual Belles vs. Peaches games. Her cleats sinking into the dirt, vintage dress swishing at her knees, the old-time scoreboard looming in the outfield, and the stands filled with fans, she slides back in time to the 40s, the setting for A League of Their Own.

“It was such a cool feeling,” she explained. “You just put yourself in the mindset that you were in the movie.”

For Kendall, a Southridge graduate and lifelong Huntingburg resident, that feeling is exactly why she keeps coming back to the Peaches vs. Belles Classic. 

“I love it,” she said.

This year, for the first time, the game gets a stage all its own — a full seven-inning standalone event at League Stadium, home of the Dubois County Bombers and the real-life ballpark made famous by the 1992 film.

It’s a change that’s been a long time coming, according to Bombers General Manager Justin Knepp. “It’s one of the most popular nights of the season for the Bombers every year,” he said of the Classic’s run as a pregame feature. “It always drew an exceptionally larger than usual crowd for mid-July. So it’s like, gosh, why not? Let’s make this its own standalone game.”

Kendall has played in the previous two seasons when it was a 45-minute opener for the Bombers. But this year, it’s all about the women, the history and the movie. Fans are invited to step back into 1943, during the height of World War II, when the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League launched its historic first season to bring great baseball to fans across the country. 

Fans are invited to dress up in 40s attire, and the game will be full of callbacks to the movie. The evening ends with a fireworks show.

Highlighting the women involved in the original season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is important for Kendall. She’s seen the impact of those opening games in the previous two seasons.

“The coolest part of playing in the past was that we’ve had so many little league softball teams bring their entire teams,” she said. “We have girls come from so far away to watch the game.”

During the game, the announcers highlight the teams with connections to the movie. At 6 feet tall, Kendall becomes Dottie Hinson, Geena Davis’s character in the film, the Rockford Peaches’ star catcher and the heart of the team.

It’s a fun reference that carries a deeper meaning for Kendall when those girls come up after the games to ask for an autograph.

“I swear, I’ve had more autographs here than I ever did in college,” she explained.

Kendall played multiple sports, including softball, for Franciscan University of Steubenville.

“I’m signing softballs for these little girls who are looking at me like I’m in the movie,” she said. “That’s one of the really special parts for me.”

When she heard about the Peaches vs. Belles Classic, those girls in the stands immediately came to mind. 

“I was just picturing how many of those softball teams are going to flock to it,” she said.

Those experiences and her love for the community are why Kendall is such a strong advocate for getting players to participate in the event. She helped recruit many of her friends for the roster. 

When she asks, one question comes up every time.

“Every single girl I’ve asked to play is like, ‘Oh, do I get to wear the cute dress?’” she laughed.

For her, putting on that uniform is stepping back into history, into a time when women stepped up to the plate while the country was at war and more locally, a time that helped establish an integral part of the community of Huntingburg through the movie that honored those women.

Stepping into those roles is why, when the teams take the field, they play hard, have fun and bring the fans along. 

“That’s something special,” Kendall said.

Here are the rosters for the upcoming Classic.

Peaches

Arabella Fowler (catcher), Paige Kendall, Grace Mullins, Emily Ferguson, Madison Wathen (catcher), Bailey Keusch, Avery Riley (pitcher), Kaitlyn Cravens, Carsyn Sidebottom, and Brooklyn Dodd.

Belles

Taylor Bayer, Keegan LaRoche, Hannah Woodson (catcher), Daelyn Lasher, Brooke Rasche (pitcher), Maddux Marshall, Clare Neukam, Rylie Schipp, Kyndal Green, and Riley Beckman.