Anything you can do, yadda yadda yadda… Oakland Ballers pitcher Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to start a game in the history of the club’s minor-league Pioneer League, and the end result was a 9-8 victory.

Oakland got themselves a new minor league baseball team in the form of the Oakland Ballers (a.k.a. The Oakland B’s), as an attraction for jilted A’s fans since the A’s are moving to Las Vegas. And the Ballers’ Tuesday night home opener at West Oakland’s Raimondi Field proved how effective of an attraction they are. There was actually an Oakland A’s home game that same night. And according to Sports Business Journal, the major league A’s barely outdrew the minor league Ballers, with the Ballers drawing 4,120 fans, and the A’s drawing 5,624 — even though the A’s play in a 65,000-seat stadium.      

The Oakland Ballers have more to brag about after Thursday night’s home game. The B's have a woman on their relief pitching staff, Kelsie Whitmore, the first woman pitcher in the history of the B’s minor league Pioneer League. But Whitmore was given the start on Thursday night against the Yolo High Rollers, becoming the first woman pitcher to start a game in league history, according to the Bay Area News Group. And the Ballers would win the game 9-8.  

As seen above, Whitmore struck out the very first batter she saw, and on a four-pitch strikeout at that. As the News Group describes, the High Rollers’ next batter did reach base on a single, but was then thrown out trying to steal second base. The third batter hit an easy-to-catch pop fly, so Whitmore impressively retired the inning’s batters 1-2-3.  

KTVU explains that the start was one of Whitmore’s many historic firsts, going back to high school. She became the first woman to make the men’s team at Temecula Valley High School. And after graduating from Cal State Fullerton, she became the first woman to sign (and pitch for, and start for) an MLB partner league minor league team with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League.

“It’s cool to be a part of history and it’s a privilege to be a part of it,” Whitmore told the Bay Area News Group after Thursday night’s win. “At the end of the day, when you do what you love, things happen. The opportunities come. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

But Whitmore technically did not get the win. She was pulled after the third inning after giving up three runs, and then the High Rollers took an 8-3 lead after a five-run sixth inning. But the B’s stormed back to tie the game.

And the Pioneer League has a cool alternative to extra innings. Instead they have a Knockout Round, which is essentially a home run derby but with strikeouts counting, and each team gets to use only one batter. The High Rollers’ batter only hit one home run, but the Ballers’ Dondrei Hubbard hit two, the second leading to a walkoff 9-8 win.

The Ballers play the High Rollers again Friday night at 6:35 pm at Raimondi Field. Tickets are available online, the game will be broadcast on TV on KPIX’s cable TV sister station KPIX+ 44 Cable 12, and over the radio on KTRB 860 AM. You can also watch the game via the subscription based streaming service FloBaseball.

Related: Brand New Baseball Team the Oakland Ballers Play Their Debut Home Opener Tonight [SFist]

Image: Oakland Ballers