Savannah Bananas Star Ashton Lansdell Believes She's Destined For Women's Baseball History

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Ashton Lansdell is tattooed pinch reminders of her religion successful herself. Her birthday, Feb. 22, makes nan angel number 222 her “birthright,” she said. She besides has a ample limb tattoo that sounds “dream until it’s your reality” that she sewage erstwhile she was 19.

She saw a Pinterest station pinch nan saying during her first twelvemonth successful inferior assemblage and it resonated pinch her. She ever dreamed of being a shot subordinate and genuinely believed it would happen.

The tattoo moreover has a crown connected it, strengthening her belief that she’s correct wherever she’s expected to be, debuting for nan caller Women’s Pro Baseball League’s Los Angeles Queens.

“That’s conscionable who I am,” she said. “I’m a dreamer, large believer successful manifestation and each that stuff. So like, erstwhile I deliberation I felt that astatine a very young age, I was like, this is what I’m gonna do. I don’t attraction what anyone says. No one’s gonna extremity me.”

The Los Angeles Queens’ Ashton Lansdell speaks astatine nan Women’s Professional Baseball League squad sanction and jersey uncover arena successful July successful New York.

(Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)

Lansdell, who was named nan skipper of nan Queens earlier their opening time connected Saturday, has had respective viral moments successful nan past year, from her walk-up dances pinch nan Savannah Bananas, a Harlem Globetrotters-esque walking shot squad for whom she was 1 of nan first women to play, to a consequence roll-up eating title pinch her Queens teammates that reached millions of viewers.

The WPBL, though, is what she’s been waiting for, and wherever she ever believed she would find herself. She was drafted seventh wide successful December, correct arsenic her assemblage softball profession had travel to a adjacent and she was looking for ways to play baseball.

“The truth that this each is coming existent conscionable goes to show that I’m connected nan correct path,” she said. “I’ve ever trusted my gut and my intuition, and I ever knew that I was going to beryllium a master shot subordinate of immoderate sort. But nan truth that we now person our ain convention for women successful shot again is conscionable truthful special.”

A shot subordinate since property 4, Lansdell was nan first woman to transportation astatine nan 7A level astatine Wheeler High School successful Marietta, Ga., and led them to a location title successful 2019. She made nan U.S. women’s nationalist squad successful 2018 and played inferior assemblage shot her freshman twelvemonth but tore an anterior cruciate ligament. . Then COVID-19 hit, wiping retired nan season. She yet decided to move to softball because it was nan only measurement to get a assemblage scholarship. She played 2 seasons astatine Florida International earlier finishing her profession astatine Mississippi.

“She has D1 assemblage experience, and moreover though it’s softball, that’s huge,” Queens outfielder Brittany Apgar said. “I’m honored to study from personification for illustration her; like, getting nan chance to beryllium astir an jock for illustration that is amazing.”

Lansdell is coming disconnected one of nan champion women’s shot World Cup appearances ever, hitting 11 for 15 pinch 2 doubles and 2 location runs for nan tournament-winning U.S.

A earthy 3rd baseman, she played nan outfield past week for nan Americans, thing she hadn’t done successful years. She expected to beryllium backmost astatine 3rd guidelines for nan Queens, wherever she will beryllium their leader successful nan infield.

Her longest play of clip pinch 1 women’s shot squad that she tin retrieve is 3 weeks pinch nan nationalist squad a fewer years ago. Women’s shot has been truthful fragmented that she usually sees different players only astatine nationalist tournaments and occasionally erstwhile some, for illustration Mo’ne Davis, person a stint pinch nan Bananas.

Ashton Lansdell fields a grounder during a Women’s Pro Baseball League drill.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

“There’s communal respect there,” Davis, nan erstwhile Little League star, said of Lansdell. “I deliberation it’ll beryllium really cool to play pinch her. I didn’t do that pinch Banana ball, but she’s evidently great.”

There are fewer WNBL players who were known extracurricular of women’s shot earlier this weekend. Lansdell is 1 of them.

On media time earlier nan first games, Lansdell emceed overmuch of nan news conference. As a young, social-media-savvy slugger who had a level earlier nan WPBL, she seems primed to beryllium 1 of nan faces of nan convention — which features 4 teams, each playing 15 games complete nan adjacent period astatine Robin Roberts Stadium, nan league’s location successful Springfield, Ill.

She didn’t foretell nan fame aliases moreover really bully she would beryllium but finds herself a professional, precisely arsenic she knew she’d be.

“This is nan astir baseball-prepared I’ve felt successful my full life,” she said. “I’ve learned truthful overmuch astir what useful physically and mentally successful women’s baseball, and now I tin do it for a longer time.”