Pitching For Two Created Huge Stir Pregnant Softball Pitcher Leaves Team After Squabbles

When Bob and Laure Schlink’s teenage daughter told them she was pregnant, they had a tough choice to make.

The decision involved their daughter Kim’s delivery - from the pitcher’s mound.

It was early March, and Kim, a 17-year-old junior at the Southeast Regional Vocational-Technical School, was five months pregnant and starting to show. But she was the star pitcher on her school team, and determined to play.

“Kim’s a great softball pitcher, and she wanted to play even though she’s pregnant,” Laure Schlink said this week. “Sure, she made a mistake, but she’s a good kid and she’s been pitching since she was 8 years old.”

The Schlinks consulted with school officials, and found there is no prohibition against pregnant athletes providing they are academically eligible and have a doctor’s permission. But not everyone is happy about her playing, including some of her teammates.

The family doctor was skeptical at first, but came around after being told that Kim trains year-round, her mother said. Kim and her mother also went to a New London obstetrics and gynecology clinic, where all three physicians cleared the teenager to play.

So, with a one-inch pad strapped around her middle, Kim took the mound. She was not allowed to bat or cover home plate, but she started every game during the first month of the season.

In the first eight games, Kim had a 5-3 record with 80 strikeouts.

The controversy began two weeks ago, when the vocational school at Danielson refused to take the field against Kim, and forfeited the game.

The forfeiture touched off a heated local debate about whether a girl late in her second trimester should be allowed to compete in sports. Kim’s parents were criticized for letting her play.

But Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, director of sports medicine at the University of Connecticut, said he sees no problem with a healthy, pregnant girl playing softball.

“If she’s physically active and in good shape, there’s not much risk,” he said. “I’d consult with an obstetrician, just the way the family did.”

Laure Schlink said she acted responsibly, no matter what anybody says.

“I’m outraged that anybody would think that I would risk the health of my daughter, or of the baby,” she told the Associated Press during an interview at the family’s home. “There was no danger. Kim wasn’t batting and she’s never been hit by a ball since she began playing.”

The ensuing publicity prompted Kim’s parents to remove her from the team.

“I spent all weekend in tears,” said Kim, a stocky girl with freckles and auburn hair. “Then coach (Bob) Feliciano called a team meeting this week and told the girls I wouldn’t be pitching but would be the team manager.”

Some of Kim’s teammates wanted her further ostracized, telling Feliciano they didn’t want her on the team at all, “because of all the fuss.”

Feliciano declined to discuss the matter. Other school officials referred all inquiries to the state Department of Education, which oversees Connecticut’s technical schools.

“We were told that all the other coaches of the teams we played would be notified about my condition,” Kim said. “But I think they only notified them on a game-by-game basis.”

On Tuesday, Kim’s team played its first game without her, losing 14-2 to Putnam High School. Kim was not present, and said she won’t attend any more games this season.

“They don’t want me,” she said. “And if they don’t want me, why should I go watch them get creamed?”