Girls can play baseball, too. Just ask Evansville Christian's Jacie Arnold

EVANSVILLE — Paul Dunham approached Jacie Arnold at church one day.

The Evansville Christian School athletics director was curious if she ever thought about playing baseball. He knew she was a talented softball player, but with an enrollment of 210 students, the Eagles don't have enough girls to field a softball team. He figured she was more than capable of playing on a different diamond.

Arnold initially wasn't sure, but she eventually came around to the idea. Why not give it a try? Especially after being encouraged by her parents, Doug and Elanie, and younger sister.

"(They) all support me like crazy," Arnold said. "It was a really positive reaction from them. My friends think it's the coolest thing in the world that I'm playing baseball out here with all these guys."

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Meet Jacie Arnold, a junior second baseman who's proving baseball isn't just for boys. She's the third girl to play baseball for ECS since its inaugural varsity team in 2019, following Kirsten Hart and Emma Wingate.

Eagles coach Joe Paulin simply needed more players at a small school. He would ask students when he was substitute teaching if they could catch, throw and run. There were only three players when he was hired to coach the team in 2017.

Now, there are more than 50 in the program.

Many were inexperienced. Yet, Arnold had been playing softball since she was 4 years old. She already had a grasp on the fundamentals of fielding and hitting, and she's good at both.

"Her having the experience that she has, it just made us much better," Paulin said. "We're very thankful that she decided to play for us."

Like mother, like daughter

Arnold's love for the game was spurred by her mother, Elanie, who was her youth softball coach growing up.

Elanie encourages competition for girls because her brother, Castle head football coach Doug Hurt, used to include her in football and baseball games with his friends when they were kids. It gave her a toughness she's passed on — and a competitive spirit that's allowed Arnold to hang with the boys, too.

Neither mother nor daughter likes to lose.

“(Jacie's) always been a fiery little competitor,” Hurt said. “I’ve got to see her play a lot of ball. One thing you can count out from Jacie is an all-out effort. I’m just really proud of her and her accomplishments.”

Arnold started watching college softball games on TV with her mother early on. It's how she picked up on some of the fundamentals. By at age 7, she learned how to hook slide, which involves sliding past the base to avoid a tag. She first tried it during one of her youth softball all-star games with a slide into home plate to win.

"I sat there kind of shocked because we never practiced it," Elanie said of the play. "But she watched it and knew that it was effective at seven and made it happen."

Arnold has always been a hard worker, someone who's team-oriented. She will cheer for her teammates no matter what the scoreboard says and encourages others to succeed. Arnold is also a student of the game. She can dissect the little things that go into a swing and identify what someone needs to adjust if they're struggling.

"She's got a good softball and baseball IQ," Elanie said. "And she's a leader, too. She's very vocal and will lead the team. If she sees something, she picks up on it. She'll read a bunt situation and know it before it ever happens. She's a good communicator with her team."

'The guys all treat me as an equal'

Opposing teams are sometimes surprised to see Arnold playing baseball. Her father assumes they question her capability. Even Arnold's teammates were taken aback at first.

It didn't take long for her to feel like she belonged.

"She's great for our chemistry and in the dugout," said ECS junior Josiah Dunham. "Obviously, her talents as a softball player have transferred over pretty nicely as a baseball player, too. She's one of our best fielders and can put the ball in play. It's just a great asset to have on our team."

Arnold starts at second base. Like the glitter that sits on the top of her head when she plays, her defense shines. She's been steadily improving at the plate, too, considering pitchers throw baseballs much differently than softballs.

"The guys all treat me as an equal, which is really awesome," Arnold said. "We all go out to eat and stuff together as a team. I'm genuinely considered as part of the team and not just the girl who plays."

Elanie added: "Males aren't always welcoming to a female playing in their sport and vice versa. It was refreshing to see the athletic director be so supportive. For (his son) to encourage it as well, it was really nice."

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Arnold has developed strong relationships with her teammates and coaches. She admits sometimes she puts too much pressure on herself because she doesn't want to let anyone down. Still, she hasn't been intimidated to play with the boys, and they can count on her to make the tough plays.

Since Arnold decided to join the team, four other girls have explored doing the same.

"To see that other young girls look up to her and now have the courage maybe to do something that they didn't have the courage to do before is pretty incredible," Elanie said. "I think we should all support and inspire each other, too."

'I'm not just the girl who plays baseball'

Jacie Arnold has plenty of women role models to look up to within the sports world.

Take Sarah Fuller, for example, as she became the first woman to score in a Power Five college football game by kicking an extra point for Vanderbilt in 2020. She made national headlines, garnered praise from stars such as Billie Jean King and later was chosen to introduce Vice President Kamala Harris during the inauguration.

Others are also breaking glass ceilings. Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng is the MLB's highest-ranked female executive. Sports agent Nicole Lynn recently played a critical part in Jalen Hurts becoming the NFL's highest-paid player. And this spring's NCAA women's basketball national championship was watched by nearly 10 million people, the most-watched game in the sport's history.

"It's so awesome; just seeing female role models is absolutely incredible," Arnold said. "But now that it's becoming more popular, and I am a female in a male sport, it's awesome to be able to look up to them and see how they've been adjusting and how they've been carrying themselves."

Back at home, Castle's Aleyna Quinn has thrived in both soccer and football. As Hurt puts it: Quinn isn't on the team because she's a female, she's simply an outstanding athlete.

The same goes for Arnold.

"I think anybody that watches our games on Friday night can see that," Hurt said. "To see women taking risks and being involved in male sports and doing it based solely on merit is truly outstanding."

College softball programs are already expressing interest in her playing for them at the next level. She's attended camps at Indiana State and Kentucky. Plus, she has a 4.0 GPA, although she just received her first-ever 'B' in high school.

The support system Arnold carries is a massive boost for all she does. Her friends and family are always at her games to cheer her on because she's constantly inspiring others.

"I think she's been a really good role model to me," said her younger sister, Elcie.

Arnold has a message for young girls who want to continue breaking those glass ceilings:

"Don't try and be one of the guys," she said, "because you're not a guy, you're a girl. Just be confident in yourself and you can do it. You can do it, for sure."

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on Twitter @Twashington490.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville Christian's Jacie Arnold shows baseball isn't just for boys