Rachel Jones is ready to play baseball

ready to pitch:
Baseball player Rachel Jones on the pitcher’s mound during a Little League game in 2008.

Pacheco student Rachel Jones, 11, was devastated when just weeks after she made her school's baseball team she was told she could no longer be part of the sport.

"She was really hoping to make the school team," mother Mary Ruggles said. "She was so jazzed when she did, and so crushed when she got kicked off."

Now, Rachel's mom is helping her fight to get back on her school's baseball team and play the sport that she loves.

The Pacheco sixth-grader has been playing baseball for almost half of her life, and has been a Little League pitcher for the last two years.

"It's what I liked from the beginning because I'm in the center of the field," Rachel said about being a pitcher.

Playing baseball has been a natural progression for the young athlete, Rachel's mother said. Rachel started playing T-ball, a version of baseball, five years ago. When she got old enough to play Little League, she wanted to stick with the sport she knew.

Rachel said she's gotten used to being one of the only girls on the baseball field.

"I don't really mind because the people on my team don't really make fun of me. They are just my friends. They think I'm just one of the team," she said.

This year Rachel decided to try out for the baseball team at her school. On Feb. 20, the day after tryouts, she found out she had made the team.

The school's baseball coach called Rachel's mother to explain he had never had a girl try out for the team.

"He wanted me to be aware that the boys typically throw a little harder, and I assured him that she was aware of all that," Ruggles said. "She's been playing with the boys for the past five years, so that wasn't an issue."

Rachel has been the only girl in a little league team full of boys, Ruggles said, and she's gotten through it. Ruggles was convinced her daughter could do it again.

"Two years ago she was the first girl in the minor leagues in Little League. She got picked on quite a bit by other teams, and the parents had some things to say," Ruggles said.

"She's just kind of brushed it off and kept on playing," the mom said. "I wasn't too concerned about anything she might go through as far as being picked on this year because she's been through it, and she doesn't care."

On March 3, after more than a week of practicing on the middle school's baseball team, Rachel and her family were informed that she could no longer be part of the team.

Ruggles said she was told that the Board of Athletic Directors for the Shasta Valley League had a meeting and voted 4-0 that Rachel not be allowed to participate on the baseball team due to by-laws that state she cannot compete because the school offers a comparable sport for girls - softball.

"The problem is that she's never played softball and never wanted to," explained Rachel's mom.

So, Ruggles said, she's begun the battle to get her daughter back on the baseball team.

Neither Pacheco's baseball coach nor the interim superintendent returned phone calls about the matter, while Pacheco's athletic director Jason Rubin said that he's been told not to comment, except that the issue is "being investigated and looked into."

Rachel said she just wants the school to look at what kind of baseball player she is.

"Nobody should be judged by if they are female or male," she said. "I'm trying to change the (league's) rules."

Rachel's mom wrote a letter to school officials and the league's athletic directors shortly after hearing the news that her daughter would no longer be able to take part on the school's baseball team.

"Because the baseball team is already practicing and their first game is scheduled for next week, I would like you to reconsider your decision as quickly as possible," she wrote.

Ruggles went on to explain that if the matter was not resolved in a timely matter, she would be prepared to file a lawsuit based on gender discrimination.

Shortly after writing the letter, Ruggles received a letter from Pacheco Principal Joy Tucker.

"There was a vote and it was decided that your daughter Rachel Jones would not be able to participate ..." Tucker wrote.

The principal expressed regret that the decision has led to disappointment for Rachel, but stated the Pacheco School would abide by the league's ruling.

"I acknowledge that you are hoping the league changes its mind," the principal's letter continued.

"However, at this time, I regret to inform you that as of Friday, March 6, 2009, Rachel will not be able to practice or play on Pacheco's baseball team."