WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. (AP) – Now it’s some power girls at the plate.
A left-handed hitter, Pichardo ripped a two-run home run over the right-field fence that sent his Sag Harbor teammates jumping and screaming with excitement as they spilled out of the dugout.
It was the only game Pichardo appeared in for the Bears last season, but the 5-foot-7, 160-pound utility player is getting regular at-bats as Sag Harbor’s outfielder this summer. A right-hander, he also struck out six batters over three innings in three outings out of the bullpen — and even pitched in the All-Star Game this month.
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Modeled after the popular Cape Cod League that attracts top prospects, the six-team HCBL is Long Island’s summer wood-bat league for college players. The league has produced more than 20 major leaguers since its inception in 2008, including Milwaukee Brewers Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, Washington Nationals All-Star pitcher Josiah Gray and Arizona Diamondbacks Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed.
Pichardo, from Queens, New York, was an outfielder and pitcher on the USA Women’s National Team that won three of five against Team Canada in its only games of the summer. He went to Brown in the fall, and coach Grant Achilles told him he had earned a roster spot in November.
Pichardo played club ball in the New York area and last year completed an internship with the New York Mets. She was an outstanding basketball player and played volleyball at the Garden School before attending Brown.
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