A League of Her Own: Softball Star Makes History on Baseball Diamond

The Cal State San Marcos softball team was in the middle of one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2024 when a walk-off grand slam set off a historic day for team member Jillian Albayati.  

CSUSM was trailing Cal State Monterey Bay in the final inning of the first game of a doubleheader when one of Albayati's teammates hit a bases-loaded home run for a walk-off Cougars victory. The whole team erupted in celebration. Except for Albayati. There wasn’t time for her to rejoice just yet.  

Albayati sprinted from the softball field back to the locker room to change attire. Now dressed in a baseball uniform, she ran all the way back down to the bullpen of CSUSM’s baseball field.  

With only a few minutes to warm up, Albayati stretched her arm and made her way to the mound. She would be pitching the final inning of the CSUSM baseball team’s game against Sonoma State to aid its short-handed pitching roster. Her softball teammates had followed her down to the baseball field and lined up at the center-field fence, cheering as she threw her first pitch.  

Albayati ended up throwing 24 pitches against seven batters, allowing only one run. Although the baseball team lost, her help was much needed for a beleaguered pitching staff.  

“It was hectic, but it was awesome,” said Albayati, a business management major who will graduate in December. “My whole softball team was cheering for me as well as all the baseball guys.”  

The day didn’t end there for Albayati, however. She hurriedly returned to the locker room to change back into her softball uniform for the second half of the doubleheader.  

CSUSM’s softball team won that game, too, allowing Albayati finally to celebrate a historic moment in which she became the first person in NCAA Division II history to play in a softball and baseball game on the same day. The feat sparked national attention, including media coverage from Major League Baseball, ESPN and The Atlantic, among other outlets.  

Baseball hardly was new to Albayati. She has been playing the sport since she was 3 years old. Growing up in Anaheim, she played Little League baseball with her twin brother, Diego.  

She then made the step up to travel ball, perfecting her swing and sharpening her pitching form. She primarily played first and third base in addition to pitching. Baseball was her priority; softball didn’t come into the picture until many years later.  

When it came time for high school baseball tryouts, Albayati made the varsity team as a freshman. She wasn’t fazed by competing with boys. She was used to being one of the rare girls in the sport. Plus, she had the support and encouragement of her brother through it all.  

“Sometimes I'd hear someone say something weird or inappropriate, but then she throws one, two, three strikes and they quiet down,” Diego said.  

Albayati and her brother attended different high schools and often played against each other. They agreed that it was always a friendly rivalry.  

With Albayati pitching for Anaheim High School, it was exciting when her brother would come up to bat. His friends would egg him on to get a hit, but Albayati never made it easy.  

“It’s all business when she's on the mound,” Diego said. “Her competitive spirit really comes out when she's pitching. Her style is very focused, very ‘I'm here to get things done.’ ”  

Albayati started playing travel softball only a year before college in hopes of getting recruited. The transition came naturally, and the coaches at CSUSM recognized her talent.  

Albayati was an immediate contributor to CSUSM’s softball success, helping the Cougars reach the NCAA Division II championship as a freshman in 2023. She proceeded to improve each year, culminating in a senior season in which she set the California Collegiate Athletic Association single-season records for batting average (.517), doubles (26), RBIs (80) and slugging percentage (.914). She received a long list of postseason accolades, including CCAA Female Athlete of the Year and being voted to two All-America teams. 

Albayati’s efforts helped CSUSM return to the NCAA D-II championship, where the Cougars advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated. 

“She's really an outstanding softball player, a great teammate and a good student,” CSUSM softball coach A.J. Robinson said. “This season, she played the way seniors should play: the best she has in her career.”  

But Albayati didn’t stop playing baseball just because she was excelling at softball. She furthered her baseball career as a member of the women’s national team for USA Baseball during the summers of 2022-24. She primarily played outfield and made a few pitching appearances each season.  

In 2024, she hit a three-run home run to help Team USA snap Japan’s 39-game winning streak during the World Cup. She was the starting pitcher in the gold-medal game in which Japan avenged its loss. The U.S. walked away with the silver medal, its first medal in 10 years.  

Playing for USA Baseball allowed Albayati to make friends from across the country, many of whom she is still close with today.  

“Growing up being the only girl on a baseball team and then suddenly getting to play with a team full of girls who have the same story and background as you is awesome. I loved it,” Albayati said.

Albayati’s baseball prowess led to another milestone last November: being selected in the first round of the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) draft.  

“I was just so excited to be able to get paid to play a game I love and become a pioneer for this new era of baseball,” she said. “And I have a lot of friends who got drafted, too, so being able to do this with people I know is just amazing.”  

Albayati’s CSUSM softball teammates even held a watch party on draft day, sharing in the excitement of the big news.  

“We were all so proud of her,” said Czar Fleischman, Albayati’s close friend on the team and roommate for the last four years.  

The WPBL’s six-week season started in August and featured four teams: Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, with Albayati playing for San Francisco.  

Albayati's mindset and discipline have made her a role model for not only the women on her team but for girls playing softball and baseball across the country. Many parents and young girls have reached out to her on social media to tell her how inspiring her story is to young female athletes hoping to follow in her footsteps.  

Albayati eventually wants to use her business management degree to work for Major League Baseball or help her parents run the family business, Albayati Realty and Mortgage Group. But for now, the WPBL is her focus.  

Albayati’s parents had a mural painted on the side of their business to celebrate her accomplishments. For Albayati, though, it’s less about making history than about playing the sport she loves.  

“I just fell in love with the game,” she said, “and never stopped playing.”  

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314