Knuckleball-Tossing Claire Eccles Makes History in West Coast League Debut

Claire Eccles has become the first woman to play in the West Coast League following her historic signing with the Victoria HarbourCats last month. The 19-year-old made her debut Wednesday night, throwing two innings and surrendering two runs on one hit and a walk in a 9-0 loss to the Wenatchee Applesox.

Her story has been well publicized since she signed with the club in May, naturally drawing a lot of hype and media attention to the ballpark ahead of the young lefty's debut.

"I just wanted to play actually. There was a lot of media beforehand. I just wanted to go out and show I could compete," she told a group reporters after the game.

The young southpaw, who is expected to be a factor out of the HarbourCats' bullpen all summer, is especially known for her knuckleball—which is closer to a knuckle-curve according to her coach with the Canadian National Women's Team—and said she used the pitch between six and eight times throughout her two-inning debut.

Eccles is a top collegiate softball outfielder at the University of British Columbia, and has also become one of the go-to hurlers with Canada's National Women's Baseball Team. She has already pitched in the last two Women's World Cups and also at the 2015 Pan Am Games, where she helped Canada earn a silver medal on home soil after joining the National Team in 2014 as a 16-year-old, the minimum age allowed.

The West Coast League, one of the top collegiate summer leagues in North America, has produced many noteworthy players, including Orioles slugger Chris Davis and Canadian left-hander James Paxton of the Mariners.