By
Gary Curreri
Deerfield
Beach’s Janelle Calvet could be considered a Swiss army knife for
the Somerset Keys High School baseball team. The 14-year-old
freshman, who plays in the Deerfield Beach Little League Senior
League team, recently completed her first year on the high school
program as one of their bright spots. She played shortstop, catcher
and even pitched some games to help the Lions finish 4-5 in their
inaugural season.
“It
was fun,” Calvet said. “I was very accepted (by the boys).
Everybody treated me the same and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed playing.”
She
said there wasn’t much of an adjustment because she played with
players that also play Little League with her. There were a couple of
girls that we played against.
“It
was everything I expected and I am definitely going to do it again,”
added Calvet, who also plays for the GTB (Girls Travel Baseball)
program that plays in tournaments throughout the country. Their last
event was an International Tournament in West Palm Beach last
November.
Two
years ago, she was among a group of girls from South Florida who were
flown out to California to compete in the inaugural ‘Trailblazer
Series,’ a first-of-its-kind girls baseball tournament.
The
event at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, CA took place in
conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day. It attracted a total of
approximately 100 girls, ages 16 and under, representing 20 states
across the country as well as Washington D.C. and Canada.
Calvet
still has aspirations of playing Major League Baseball. In March, she
was a part of MLB Grit, an inaugural high school invitational event
designed specifically for 60 girls who play baseball.
It
was held in Dallas, Texas. Calvert said she was able to meet members
of the United States Women’s National Baseball Team and some
professional players.”
“I
absolutely want to play in the MLB,” she said. “It is going to
take a lot of hard work.”
Calvet,
who is the lone girl playing in the Senior Division of the Deerfield
Beach Little League, said the ‘A League of Their Own’
movie inspired her to play baseball. When she went to California, two
of the original members of the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League (1949-51) were in attendance and Calvet got to meet
them.
“The
most memorable thing going out there was meeting Maybelle Blair and
Shirley Burkovich because it all started with them,” said Calvet
following her trip at the time.
“I
had her pitching and playing shortstop for us,” said Somerset Keys
baseball coach Joe Silvia. “She was a force to be reckoned with.
I’ll be honest. I had her batting second and she would get on
(base), steal second and third and score.”
“She
was one of my heavy hitters,” he added. “It’s great having her
on the team. It’s different having a girl on the team. You worry
about her not hurting her arm. We do long toss, quick hands, and all
of these drills.”
Calvet
finished the season with a batting average of .444 and Silvia said
she averaged at least two walks per game this season. She had 10 RBIs
to go along with her 8 runs scored. She pitched, played shortstop and
also caught the last few games of the season. Every practice, he
would talk to her.
“I
always went up to her and said, ‘how’s the arm? Are you good?’”
Silvia said. “I pitched her in some of our games. She is the real
deal. We started to practice, and she was running with the
guys…taking batting practice and throwing and I was like, ‘ok,
what’s going on here?’” If I had nine of her, we’d be
undefeated.”
