September 27, 2024

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

There’s familiarity in her surroundings even though Jaida Lee is more than 7,000 km away from home.

A baseball feels the same, gripped on the mound before Lee snaps an 80 mph fastball into the catcher's mitt, no matter what part of Canada she’s in.

For the young Newfoundlander, St. John’s has always been home, but B.C. is where the young pitcher is making history.

The 18-year-old was recruited to sling strikes for the University of British Columbia, becoming the first woman — alongside two of her teammates on the Women’s National Team — to play for the university.

Having two familiar faces on the UBC Junior Varsity squad is helping make the cross country move smoother, Lee said.

“I don’t know many people in B.C. so having them on the team too, it kind of made the adjustment a little bit easier,” Lee said, who is joined by Women’s National Team pitchers Raine Padgham (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Michelle Roche (Burnaby, B.C.) at UBC.

The three are breaking down barriers together in a sport they’ve played and been passionate about for years.

Side by side, they make an important impression, Roche said, who made her debut in international competition with the Women’s National Team this past summer. The right-hander recorded a save for Canada in the opener of the World Cup against Mexico.

“For three of us to be able to be on the team for the first time all together, I think it's a huge statement for women in baseball,” Roche said, who’s studying architecture at UBC when she’s not taking the field for them.

Every pitch, every workout they’ve put in has helped lead the trio here.

It was seven years ago that Roche, now 19, first caught UBC head coach Chris Pritchett’s eye when she was in Little League.

She’s continued to impress with her skills on the field, and Pritchett is looking forward to having her bring that same energy to UBC.

“[She’s] really dedicated, a lot of strikes and just no fear,” Pritchett said.

He saw Lee play two years ago, at the 2022 Canada Games.

Lee was the first woman ever to compete in a Canada Games baseball competition.

“She was really competitive and had some pitchability and threw really well against the guys on the biggest stage in high school baseball,” he said.

She spent the past summer training at Premier Sports Academy in Newfoundland, and with the Ligue Canada-Est in Quebec. Lee trained in the early morning with Team Canada’s Mia Valcke (St. Marys, Ont.), spending three or four hours a day at the gym to improve her strength and skills on the field.

Padgham, who transferred to UBC from Thompson Rivers this year to study kinesiology, also has a lot to bring to their roster, Pritchett said.

He saw her practice for the UBC squad, and she worked hard and quickly on the mound, and threw a lot of good pitches, he said.

“I’m really excited to see what she can develop into,” he said.

Padgham pitched in the bronze medal game of the World Cup this summer, holding Mexico to four hits in four innings of work and one run. That performance ultimately helped Canada win bronze.

They’re not just here to play baseball, Roche said, but to really make their mark on the ball field for UBC.

“We’re playing at one of the highest levels you can play at, and being able to compete at that level will really show how we’re able to play with the boys,” Roche said.

“And not just able to play with them, but we’re able to compete, and dominate, at this level.”