Staff Writer

Allie Spinney is used to being the only girl on the team.

Whether it is on the baseball field or in the hockey rink, Allie has spent years playing alongside boys. Next month she’ll travel to New York to play for the first time on a baseball team comprised entirely of girls.

Allie, a 12-year-old eighth-grade student at Loranger Middle School in Old Orchard Beach, recently was chosen to play with the all-star girls’ baseball team the Sparks. The Sparks will compete against 100 boys’ teams in a 12U baseball tournament Aug. 13 to 20 at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Allie said she was chosen to play for the team during a Baseball For All baseball academy earlier this month in Massachusetts. Baseball For All was founded and is directed by Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach men’s professional baseball.

But long before Allie was trying out for all-star teams, she was playing ball with her father, Ken.

“I started going out with my dad to practice hitting and throwing balls at age 2,” Allie said.

“We’d just go to the playground to play,” said Ken, who kept a stash of gloves and balls in his car.

Allie started playing Little League at age 5 and quickly found she enjoyed catching, pitching and playing in the outfield. She was “dead set against going to softball,” said her mother, Beth, but played on the Loranger softball team last year.

Allie said she prefers the fast pitches and hard hits on the baseball field. She will play on the school baseball team for the first time next year.

“I find the competition to be better. And it’s more fun,” she said. “The boys in Old Orchard Beach say they want me on the team.”

Beth said she often hears parents from opposing teams comment about the girl on the team. At one game, she listened with amusement as two dads debated if the pitcher was a girl or boy. They decided it had to be a boy because of how well Allie was pitching, she said.

Though she is not heckled often, Allie said she takes it in stride.

“I just smile and say ‘I’m going to just strike you out or get a big hit,’” she said.

One of her favorite moments on the baseball field was during an all-star game against a team from Lebanon. Allie’s team was down two runs with two outs and two batters on base when the opposing pitcher walked a top hitter to get to Allie.

“They pitched it right down the middle. I drove it off the left field fence and brought everyone home,” she said. Her team won.

Allie said she does not mind playing baseball with boys, but did enjoy spending time with girls on the softball team. She looks forward to spending more time playing with the other girls on the Sparks, including many new friends from the baseball academy.

Despite her love for baseball, Allie said she almost gave up the sport before this season. She said Tony Murray, her coach of three years, encouraged her to stick with the game.

“I’m happy he kept me in it. This has been my best year so far. I really want to keep playing,” Allie said.

In addition to baseball, Allie will continue to play ice hockey and will try field hockey for the first time. She is a member of the Portland Junior Pirates, where she plays goalie for a boys’ team. She also is an honor roll student.

Before she heads to Cooperstown for the tournament, Allie must raise $1,000 to pay for expenses. Ken said the family is accepting tax-deductible donations through the nonprofit Baseball for All. Checks payable to Justine Siegal may be sent to Ken Spinney, 15 Olympia Ave., Old Orchard Beach ME 04064.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.