At Los Altos High, Jamie Baum was the first and thus far only girl to make the varsity baseball team. This summer, she played on a squad comprised entirely of women.
And it wasn’t just any team. Baum earned a spot on the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, which faced host Canada in a five-game friendly series that wrapped up last week in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
“It was amazing,” she said of the experience.
The 2021 graduate of Los Altos contributed to the national team in myriad ways. Baum pitched, played in the outfield and served as a designated hitter in the series the Americans won 3-2.
“We hoped to win a few more games – obviously you want to win every game – but we were happy to win the series,” Baum said. “We ran away with a couple games, and the ones we lost were pretty close.”
The U.S. got off to a blistering start, winning the opener 16-2 July 28. Baum pitched
1 1/3 innings of relief in that game and struck out two batters. She also hit a single to left field.
The Americans won the second game 7-2 July 29, but the Canadians bounced back the next day to prevail 10-8. Baum played left field for a few innings of that game after the starter was injured.
Baum returned to the mound July 31, throwing a scoreless inning of relief in her team’s 7-0 victory.
The Canadians won the fifth and final game 8-4 Aug. 1, but the Americans had already secured the series.
“Canada was strong, but we had confidence in ourselves,” Baum said. “We knew we had a good team.”
The Los Altos native was in awe of playing with national team veterans like Kelsie Whitmore, who plays minor league baseball.
“You hear about some of the players on the news,” Baum said. “It was awesome to be on the field with them.”
Baum went through a series of tryouts to make the roster of 20. After participating in an invitational last October in Florida, she attended the open trials that began July 18 in Minnesota. Nearly 70 players took part in the five-day event, and Baum was among the 32 invited to stick around for one final week of trials.
“I felt pretty good about my odds (of making the team), because I batted and pitched pretty well,” she said. “It was an exciting moment when I found out that I did.”
The 19-year-old Baum was among the youngest women on the roster, which included players in their 30s and 40s. She was also the lone representative from Northern California.
“The last five years, this has kind of been the goal,” Baum said of making the national team.
Baum hopes to make it again next summer, when the U.S. is scheduled to play in a World Cup qualifying tournament against several neighboring countries. Then in 2024, Baum has her sights set on playing for her country in the World Cup.
“That would be exciting,” she said. “It’s a big stage.”
Back to basketball
Baseball isn’t her only focus, however. Baum plays on the women’s basketball team at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, where she was named second team all-league as a freshman after leading the Fightin’ Engineers in scoring and rebounding last season.
“It was awesome to start and have a big role on the team already,” said the civil engineering major.
While she’s home for the summer, Baum is working on her basketball and baseball skills. She prepared for her stint with USA Baseball by practicing with her younger brother’s Babe Ruth team. Before that, she trained with the baseball team at Rose-Hulman.
“In the spring, I got some work in with coach (Adam) Rosen and the team,” Baum said. “I worked on my throwing and hitting, and they were amazing about that.”
