Bucks varsity baseball fields first female player

Deerfield Beach – To say that Janelle Calvet gives her all on the baseball diamond is an understatement.

The black protective brace on her left knee serves as a reminder that the Deerfield Beach High School junior is fearless.

“Last game against Monarch, I was playing third and there was a foul ball,” Calvet said. “They said, ‘you’ve got room,’ and I didn’t see the tractor that you drag the field with. I look over when I was getting ready to jump over and dive and I see the tractor, so I tried to avoid it.”

She “slid across the metal thing that you drag the field with and I hit my knee.” But that didn’t stop her.

The 16-year-old finished the game.

“I didn’t go to the doctor,” Calvet said. “I get pain here and there and it kind of locks up. It doesn’t bother me with the brace on.”

Calvet is the first girl to play varsity baseball at Deerfield Beach High School. She plays third base, outfield, middle infield, and pitches in relief for the Bucks squad. Two years ago, she played for Somerset Academy Key but last season they didn’t have a team due to COVID-19.

When Somerset Key closed their baseball program, Bucks coach Chuck Brown learned a few players would be headed his way, including Calvet. She is the first girl to play for him in his high school coaching career.

“We heard there were a few players coming over, including Janelle and I thought, ‘Oh goody, we are going to have a girl come play,’” said Brown, who is in his third year with the Bucks. “Surprisingly, she brings it. The first practice she showed up and she started working right away and she has fit in since. We are happy to have her.”

Deerfield Beach High School junior Janelle Calvet fields a grounder at third in warmups before a recent game against Coral Glades. Calvet is the first girl to play varsity baseball for the Bucks. [Gary Curreri]

Brown added, “She’ll do what it takes to make the play. She is one of the toughest players I’ve got on my team. She’s a baseball player. I am sure they [opponents] look at her . . . she’s been on the mound and they start chatting at her and she goes about doing her job and after the game they know she brings it. She plays very well.”

Coming to the Bucks was an easy adjustment for Calvet, who played on the same city league and travel teams as most of her teammates.

“This is a lot of fun actually,” Calvet said. “I grew up with a lot of them and there are a lot of good memories. I just wanted to give it my all and make sure I prove my point that girls belong here. It’s called a boy’s sport, but that is not the definition of it. I want to make a difference.”

She considered playing softball at one point but stuck to baseball.

“I did [consider it] in middle school, but it is a different game,” Calvet said. “Growing up, I have always had a passion for baseball. It will be forever in my heart.”

Calvet and Kate Maston, a freshman at Coral Springs Charter School, are the only girls playing varsity high school baseball in Broward County.

“It’s very cool actually because you don’t see that a lot of times, so I like being a part of it,” Calvet said. “I get [banter from opponents] a lot and I have learned to block it out. Then they are shocked when I go and play. It’s natural to me.”

She added that she doesn’t feel any pressure to prove herself.

“I feel over time I started to believe in myself more, as long as I keep working and never give up. I just put my mindset on me and block everything out.”

Calvet was also among four girls from Broward who participated in the inaugural Trailblazer Series, a first-of-its-kind girl’s baseball tournament in 2017.

The event at the MLB Academy in Compton, California took place in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day. It attracted about 100 girls, ages 16 and under, representing 20 states, Washington D.C. and Canada. In addition to Calvet and Maston, Maddie Saven [Plantation] and Jessica Prieto [Pembroke Pines] also played.

Saven has since converted to softball and signed a national letter of intent to play for Chipola College. Prieto turned her talents to singing and music.

In the Bucks’ recent 16-10 win over visiting Coral Glades, Calvet played third base and had four chances with two putouts. She also scored a run.

For the season, she has contributed seven runs and six RBIs. Calvet has also been hit by four pitches and walked four times. Her on-base percentage is .407. On the mound, she’s pitched in nine games and struck out 20 in 18.1 innings. Calvet’s ERA is 4.96.

“The guys have accepted me,” Calvet said. “We all joke around. They are like my brothers. I feel like one of the guys. It’s always been like that growing up.”