'Not playing for publicity. She earned the spot:' Rose-Hulman's first woman baseball player

For the first time in Rose-Hulman baseball history, a woman is on the team's roster and, earlier this season, she crushed a mid-80-mph pitch in a game for a single that brought in two runs.

The feat created a lot of buzz on social media and cheers for gender equity in sports but, to be completely honest, Jamie Baum would rather people not make a big deal that she's a woman baseball player. She is simply a player getting a chance to compete in the sport she loves at the college level.

"She's not playing for publicity. She just loves baseball," said Rose-Hulman coach Adam Rosen. "I didn't put her on the team for publicity. She earned the spot."

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Baum, a star women's basketball player at Rose-Hulman who played high school baseball in Los Altos, Calif., spent the past two seasons as a baseball student manager.

She would show up to the dugout, reporting for duty, wearing a Team USA shirt with a matching backpack slung over her shoulder. That gave Baum, who for the past two years played for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team "instant credibility" with the guys, said Rosen.

But she really didn't need the swag to prove her worth. Rosen and the players watched Baum — in between keeping charts and taking video — throwing with the guys and hitting in the cages.

When she decided to try out for Rose-Hulman baseball this season as a junior, she not only made the Division III team, but she has impressed her coaches.

"Offensively, she has a really good feel for timing as a hitter, really good control of the bat," said Rosen. "She doesn't swing and miss very often."

In the fall, Baum had the fewest strikeouts of any player on the team. Defensively, she is fundamentally sound, but doesn't start at her second base or shortstop positions — yet. But after getting two hits in a junior varsity game, Baum earned the opportunity to bat in a varsity game.

That's when she smashed that ball and proved to anyone who didn't already know it that she deserved to be on this team.

"Initially it was like, 'How's this going to go?'" said Rosen. "Pretty quickly she proved she was going to hold her own and the uncertainty wore off."

'Just stuck with it'

Baum's love of baseball started with her older brother Ryan, who is a fifth-year senior at California Polytechnic. He loved sports, especially baseball, and the two would watch games together on television any chance they got.

"I wanted to do everything he did," said Baum, who is 5-10. "So, I started playing baseball in kindergarten and just stuck with it."

Baum became the first female to play on Los Altos High baseball team and was a member of the USA Baseball Women's National Team Development Program. She was also a star basketball player and was chosen the school's Athlete of the Year all four years.

Once at Rose-Hulman, as a civil engineering major, Baum decided to focus on academics and concentrate on one sport, at least until she became more comfortable with the college routine.

As a basketball player, Baum is a 3-year varsity letter award winner and 2-time All-HCAC selection. This past season, she led the team with 13.6 points per game, 34.1 minutes per game, 32 total blocks, and an 85.3% free throw percentage. She also racked up 67 assists, 37 steals and 137 rebounds.

But when the warm weather hit, it was always baseball.

In 2022, Baum was selected to the 20-player USA Women's Baseball National Team that competed in Canada, earning a spot as a right-handed pitcher and utility player. Last summer, she took her national play to another level.

At the 2023 World Baseball Softball Confederation Women’s Baseball World Cup at Port Arthur Stadium in Ontario, Baum earned a win in her only start of the tournament and later homered for Team USA, which went 5-0.

She pitched three scoreless innings to beat South Korea 14-0 and allowed two hits, struck out five batters and walked two. Playing first base three days later, Baum hit a three-run homer in Team USA’s 29-0 victory over Hong Kong.

The Rose-Hulman baseball team heard what their student manager had done. When she asked to try out, there was no hesitation, said Rosen.

But getting a chance to bat in the varsity game was a dream come true for Baum.

"I was just waiting for my opportunity to come, and I finally got to go in a game, and I was really nervous but excited at the same time," she said. "And when I went up there, I was still nervous, but once you get in the game, I feel like just the adrenaline, it just makes everything go away, and I'm just out there hitting and playing baseball."

After college, Baum plans to attend grad school and then go into structural engineering. She also isn't ruling out playing professional baseball, perhaps in the Atlantic League where Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to appear in the starting lineup for a game.

But she still has her junior season to play out at Rose-Hulman and says she will be back to try for a varsity starting role next season.

"We have a senior who's starting second base right now," she said. "Next year, the spot will be up for grabs, and we'll see what happens. Maybe ...."

Baum will make history again — this time in the starting lineup.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Not playing for publicity:' Rose-Hulman's 1st woman baseball player