Claire Eccles to become first female to play West Coast League baseball
Claire Eccles will join the Victoria HarbourCats and will make history as the first woman to compete in the West Coast League, which is Canada's 11-team developmental league for North American collegiate players.
Eccles is known as a knuckleball pitcher out of the University of British Columbia.
"I'm very excited. Victoria is really behind this team and I'm lucky to play for such a great organization as the Harbourcats," Eccles said in a statement. "I've been playing baseball for a long time and have been a pitcher for my entire career so when I switched to softball it just wasn't the same. I'm obviously not going to be the fastest pitcher in the league, but I have some good off-speed pitches that will keep hitters on their toes."
Eccles has played four years with the Canadian National Team.
"All the scouting reports I've seen on Claire tell me she can compete at this level," manager Brad Norris-Jones said.
The HarbourCats will open at home on June 5.
