Saints to recognize 1st woman to play in pro baseball game

Posted May 25, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The St. Paul Saints are honoring the first woman to play in a regular season professional baseball game.

Left-handed pitcher Ila Borders made her debut with the Saints, then in the Northern League, on May 31, 1997. She came in to pitch relief against the Sioux Falls Canaries. She faced three batters without recording an out.

In her next outing, Borders came out of the bullpen and struck out the side. Borders pitched seven games for the Saints that season before being traded to the Duluth-Superior Dukes.

Borders played four seasons in the pros, with her best season coming in 1999 with Madison of the Northern League, going 1-0 with a 1.67 ERA in 15 appearances.

The first 1,500 fans at Saturday's Saints game will receive an Ila Borders bobblehead.

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