OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Old Orchard Beach 12-year-old Allie Spinney is not your ordinary young girl when it comes to playing one of her favorite sports, baseball.
Spinney, who stands at 5 feet 5 inches, loves what was once America’s favorite pasttime. She loves it so much, in fact, that she has earned her way onto a national baseball all-star team that is no ordinary baseball team.
She and 13 other girls around her age are heading to Cooperstown New York on Aug. 13 to participate in one of the largest youth baseball tournaments at the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Spinney and these 13 other girls will be playing in the 12U baseball tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park, N.Y. and they aren’t playing against each other. They are teaming up as one team, the only all girls team in the tournament that will be playing their hearts out against 99 other teams made up of boys.
So, does this rattle the righty from Maine?
“I’m not nervous at all,” said Spinney, who will catch for the Sparks and possibly pitch. “I just want to play.”
Spinney made the team during the July 4 weekend after attending the Girls International Baseball Camp in Hinsdale, Mass.
At the camp, 14 girls tried out for four remaining spots. Spinney quickly received a letter informing her she was named to one of the spots.
“I was pretty excited,” she said. “I can’t wait to get down there.”
The camp attracted hundreds of girls from across the world and it better taught them the fundamentals of baseball and promoted a greater awareness of the game.
Justine Siegal, a legendary female baseball player who is the first woman to ever become an assistant coach in professional baseball coaching first base for the Brockton Rox, headed the camp and will be coaching the Sparks during August’s Cooperstown Tournament.
“She has really pioneered the way for women’s baseball,” said Allie’s father Ken Spinney. “It’s truly amazing that this is the first time a team of girls will be taking on the boys.”
Spinney and the her teammates won’t be backing down come August. She is considered one of the best pitchers for Old Orchard Beach Little League with about a 60-mile-per-hour fastball that she mixes in with an offspeed pitch. Her success on the mound is simple, she said.
“I never throw it down the middle of the plate,” Spinney said. “I try not to give the hitter something to hit.”
She batted over .400 this season in her final Little League year and will be playing baseball next year for Loranger Middle School.
“She tried playing softball a little this year, but she just really loves baseball,” Allie’s mother Beth said.
The Sparks are becoming well known in baseball circles as one their players, Chelsea Baker – a hard-throwing pitcher out of Florida – will be featured on ESPN. The team is also part of a documentary called “The Girls of Summer.”
“Allie will be an integral part of our team,” Siegal said.
Allie almost quit baseball two years ago, but decided to play after one of Old Orchard Beach’s Little League coaches convinced her to try out again.
“He said she had a spot on the team if she came out and played,” Beth Spinney said. “She told me to fill out the paper work and realized she wanted to still play.”
The Spinneys are trying to raise $1,000 to get Allie to Cooperstown, which is the participation cost for the tournament.
Some Old Orchard Beach businesses have donated money to the Spinneys and Allie will be having a tag day outside of Radley’s Market Saturday from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
If you would like to donate to Spinney’s cause, contact Ken Spinney at 415-0407, or e-mail spinee2@yahoo.com. All donations are tax deductible.
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