SwatTalk: Laura Hirai '22

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As a young girl, Laura Hirai ’22 fell in love with baseball. Growing up in Japan, she recalls her experience with the sport was not particularly gendered. It was not until she attempted to attend a baseball camp in the US, and was told it was only for boys, that she realized she may face some obstacles to achieving her diamond dreams. Like many Swarthmore students, Laura approached these obstacles as a challenge rather than a deterrent, and at 26 years old has become a global face of women's baseball. Her resume includes being the first, and thus far only, woman to represent Great Britain in U18 baseball; becoming the first "ball girl" for the New York Yankees during the first Major League Baseball game played in England in 2019; and being drafted in the fifth round in the inaugural draft of the US-based Women's Professional Baseball League, which is set to begin play in August. Laura also played varsity softball at Swarthmore. Please join Laura for a conversation with Ana Apostoleris Rivera ’13 about her pioneering experiences and her insights on the future of women's baseball.
 

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Laura Hirai has been a passionate sports enthusiast since early childhood. She graduated from Swarthmore in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Spanish. Laura's love for baseball began while living in Japan during adolescence, and she went on to make history as the first and still only female athlete to represent Great Britain in Under-18 baseball, pitching at the European Championships in 2015 and 2017. Alongside her baseball career, she also represented Great Britain in softball, becoming the first athlete to actively compete in both sports at the national level. Recently, Laura was also drafted in the fifth round in the inaugural draft of the US-based Women's Professional Baseball League, one of only three European athletes selected. In recent international competition, Laura played a key role in Great Britain’s success, helping secure gold in women’s baseball and bronze in softball at the European Championships, with both teams qualifying for their respective World Cup stages. Throughout her career, she has consistently broken new ground, establishing herself as a trailblazer for women in sport.