Liliana Radcliff, a sixth grader at Wissahickon Middle School, has been playing baseball for almost four years.

She learned at an early age that softball was not for her, so she started out as the only girl in the Lower Gwynedd Little League. Initially, she didn’t have a great experience, so her mom, Laura, helped her find a Philadelphia-based all-girls team organized by the nonprofit Baseball for All, the largest girls’ baseball organization in the country.

“She’s been playing with them going on three years. She’s had a great experience. This is when she gets to play against all-girls teams,” Laura said.

Recently, Liliana was invited to play for the New York Wonders, an all-girls team headed to a weeklong tournament at Dreams Park in Cooperstown, New York, in July.

“I think it’s only the second or third time that all-girls teams have played at that park. The girls are from all over the country,” Laura said. “We hosted 10 of them for a sleepover during Christmas break. They’ll have a couple practices and a tournament in April to get ready for Cooperstown.”

Liliana’s teammates are from California, Idaho, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia. Four are from the Philadelphia area. While there aren’t a lot of baseball programs to help the girls develop for now, Laura said it’s starting to trend in the other direction.

And with the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) set to debut this summer, Laura says the girls now have role models to look up to.

“We’ve met some of the girls that have been drafted. It was amazing to get their autographs,” Laura said. “A lot of the girls had swapped out baseball for softball because it’s easier to play in college right now. I’m hoping with the league that some colleges start a women’s baseball team. A lot of the girls that play have to pick one or the other.”

For a 150-year history of women’s professional baseball in the United States, you can check out Baseball For All’s timeline here. You can also check out the video below, courtesy of the New York Yankees’ Youtube channel, which commemorates the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the inspiration for the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own”:

Photos: Laura Radcliff