Just a few months before joining the U.S. women’s national baseball team in the summer of 2010, Jenna Marston didn’t even know the program existed.
“That’s really sad because I consider myself a sports fan and more importantly a huge baseball fan,’’ said Marston, a Principia High and University of Missouri product currently competing in the Pan Am Games in Toronto. “Even here, when we tell people we play baseball, most of them assume we’re talking about softball.’’
The Pan Am Games mark the first time women’s baseball has been part of an international multi-sport competition and Marston loves being a part of it.
“The atmosphere is incredible,’’ she said. “You get on the elevator and right away you’re talking to other athletes about their sport and their country. It definitely makes you feel like you’re part of something special.’’
The Americans defeated Venezuela 10-6 and Cuba 11-0 to open round-robin play. Marston, who turned 24 this week, started both games at second base. She went two for four and scored a run against Venezuela and scored again against Cuba with two hits.
After beating Puerto Rico 9-0 on Thursday, the U.S. will meet Canada on Friday to wrap up the five-team round robin. The top three will advance, with No. 1 getting a bye and advancing to Sunday’s gold medal game. The second- and third-place finishers will meet on Saturday.
“Obviously anything can happen when you’re competing, but we feel pretty good about our chances,’’ Marston said.
Marston came to her love of baseball naturally. Her father, Bill, teaches math and is the longtime baseball coach at Principia.
“I grew up in a baseball family – we’re huge Cardinal fans – and the game has always been a big part of our lives,’’ she said. “My older brother, Christopher, played baseball, so of course, I wanted to play baseball, too.’’
At Principia, Marston played softball in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring and was the school’s Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete as a senior. It wasn’t until the summer before her sophomore year that she got serious about playing summer softball.
“When I first starting playing baseball, there was one other girl on my team, but she eventually switched over to softball,’’ Marston recalled. “But I wanted to play baseball. I don’t remember playing against any other girls, but honestly, I don’t remember anybody giving me any trouble about it. I was out there to play ball, just like the guys.’’
Marston grudgingly gave up baseball to play softball at Mizzou. She started two years at shortstop and two at catcher. A two-time Academic All-American with a degree in industrial engineering, she helped the Tigers reach the College World Series in 2010 and 2011 and ranks in the program’s top 10 in hits, doubles, at bats, runs, RBIs and walks.
Marston was a Tiger freshman when she was first contacted by the U.S. national team.
“During a telecast of a game against Texas A&M, they mentioned that I’d played baseball in high school and the mother of the U.S. team director happened to be watching the game,’’ Marston said. “They got in touch with my coach and from there one thing led to another.’’
That summer, competing in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Venezuela, she was an all-tournament selection at shortstop after hitting .593 while leading the tournament with 16 hits and eight doubles. She was named the Sportswoman of the year by USA Baseball and honored at the St. Louis Baseball Writers Dinner the following January with the John E. Wray Award for achievement in sports other than professional baseball.
The U.S. took the bronze in 2010. After sitting out 2011, Marston returned to help the U.S. earn silver World Cup medals in 2011 and 2012. In all three tournaments, the key losses came to Japan.
“They’re not part of the Pam Am games, but they were good enough to come over for a series of games in Cooperstown, N.Y., to help us prepare for this tournament; we ended up splitting four games,’’ Marston said, noting that she and her teammates are already looking forward to next year’s World Cup event in South Korea.
She said the U.S. team has a special bond.
“Even though we’re from all over the country, all the women on this team have pretty similar backgrounds,’’ Marston said. “Most of us grew up as that one girl playing baseball with a bunch of guys and now we’re pretty much living out that dream. I enjoy both sports and feel fortunate to have played softball and baseball at a high level. To me, baseball’s more about power and strength while softball’s more a game of speed and quickness. They’re similar but they can also be very different. That’s probably why I enjoy them both so much.’’
