Folks figured the Cal State San Marcos baseball and softball coaches were simply kidding around when they recently started discussing the idea of Jillian Albayati playing for both of them.
Oh no, Jose Garcia and Stef Ewing were completely serious. So when the short-handed Cougars baseball team needed a pitcher this past weekend, everybody knew Albayati could handle the job.
She’s a reliable right-handed pitcher in baseball and plays third base for softball.
“We’ve got an arm, and we’ve got a legit arm,” Ewing shared by phone Monday night of the conversations and confidence they had in Albayati.
And Albayati became just the second player in collegiate history and first in Division II to appear in formal baseball and softball games the same day when she pitched the final inning in the opener of a doubleheader against Sonoma State.