Ashton Lansdell, believed to be the only
girl to play varsity high school baseball in Cobb County, will now get a
shot to play at the college level.
The
recent Wheeler graduate recently announced her commitment to play
baseball for Georgia Highlands College, a junior college program that
plays its games at the LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson.
Lansdell
will experience some change at the next level, as she will be moved
from the pitcher's mound to instead play center field and second base
for the Chargers.
Source : Duke Athletics
Source : Duke Athletics
What will not change is the fact that Lansdell will once again be the only female on her team.
Wheeler
coach Mark Collins said that while the locker room situation might be
different at the college level, Lansdell's physical ability will not be.
“Her strength is way above average,” Collins said. “We have a pretty good weight program.”
Lansdell
agreed, and said that while she does not look as strong as other
players, she works out a lot and has been training all summer to
increase her strength.
The
future Georgia Highlands Charger will not have to acclimate to the
physical requirements of the college game, but to its speed. In high
school, pitchers threw the ball much slower than the college pitchers
who Lansdell will be batting against.
“The
fastest I’ve seen was 92 mph, but that was, like, one. The average was
mid-80s,” Lansdell said. “I just need to catch up to consistently seeing
85-90 mph.”
Lansdell said she
was encouraged by a Georgia Highlands coach to sit out the 2020 season
as a redshirt to adapt to the increased speed of the college game. She
agreed, viewing it as a year to train and develop.
The college announcement was just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for the 18-year-old Lansdell.
She
made her first varsity start against Pebblebrook in March 2018,
pitching 3 2/3 innings. She allowed five hits, two unearned runs and one
strikeout to earn the win in a 13-3 victory.
After
her junior season, she attended the Girls Baseball Breakthrough Series,
before playing for Team USA in the Women’s Baseball World Cup that
summer.
Lansdell said that she
does not believe playing college ball will be any different for her,
apart from the increased speed, and she already has some experience
playing her new positions.
“I
don’t care who you are. If you put in the time, you will play. Work
hard, do the right things and you can do what you want to do,” Collins
told the MDJ before Lansdell’s first start in 2018.
Two years later, Lansdell is still proving she can succeed in a sport that, until recently, looked as if it was for men only.
“She never ever asked for anything different,” Collins said. “She wouldn't have gotten it.”