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.