Park Joo-ah Records 2 Hits and 2 RBIs in WPBL Debut, Kim Hyun-ah Scores Twice

In the Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL), which has been revived after 72 years, infielder Park Joo-ah of the San Francisco Firebells and outfielder Kim Hyun-ah of the Boston Hunters faced off in a "Korean derby."

The two players started as the ninth-batter third baseman (Park Joo-ah) and fifth-batter right fielder (Kim Hyun-ah), respectively, in the opening game of the 2026 WPBL regular season held at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, on August 3 (KST).

Park Joo-ah contributed to her team's 11-3 landslide victory by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored, while Kim Hyun-ah, a natural catcher playing as a right fielder, went hitless in two at-bats with one walk and two runs scored.

The WPBL is the first U.S. women's professional baseball league to be held since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran from 1943 to 1954. Four teams—the New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, San Francisco, and Boston—are competing this year.

These four teams will play 15 games per team in a seven-inning format through September 7, with all games taking place at Robin Roberts Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,200 spectators.

Meanwhile, Kim Ra-kyung, the ace of South Korean women's baseball who joined the New York Heights, pitched in the opening game against Los Angeles the previous day, allowing four runs on two hits and four walks with four strikeouts over four innings.

Three South Korean players—Park Joo-ah, Kim Hyun-ah, and Kim Ra-kyung—took on the challenge of playing on the U.S. stage with the launch of the WPBL, being selected in the first and second rounds by their respective teams in the draft held last November.

(Photo: Screen capture from the Women's Professional Baseball League Instagram account, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.