She throws like a boy

Thirty years ago today, 18-year-old Ila Borders pitches in a collegiate game for the first time, crafting a five-hitter as Southern California College of Costa Mesa beats Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College 12-1.

The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Borders goes on to pitch professionally for three seasons in the independent Northern League, where she plays for three teams from 1997-99 before retiring in 2000 after pitching in five games for Zion of the independent Western League.

Ila Borders with the St. Paul Saints

“Two things help me be a winner,” Borders later says. “One is I try to stay on an even keel. I don’t get too high or too low. Two is I do a lot of visualization. I never see a bad pitch. I always see a good one.”

Borders now is a firefighter in the Pacific Northwest.

“Anytime you’re a woman trying to break into a male-dominated field you spend time trying to prove yourself,” Borders says.

“Once [my teammates] realized I wasn’t there to pick up guys or for the publicity – I was just there to play baseball – I’d see them diving for balls for me, encouraging me. They know how hard it is to play this game.”

Borders has a chance to stay in baseball after she stops playing, but turns down a chance from St Paul Saints owner Mike Veeck to become the pitching coach for his independent league team.

“I loved the game, and never really felt like what I went through wasn’t worth it until my last year, and that’s why I decided to retire,” Border says. “Mike Veeck offered me a job as a pitching coach, but I said no because my head wasn’t in it at the time. That’s the one thing I regret.”