2001 Female Player: Barb Beimal
/Barb Beimal
Ask people to talk about shortstop and outfielder Barb Beimal and most of them will respond, “She could always get a hit.”
A skilled place hitter and defensive stalwart throughout her playing career, Beimal established herself as one of the top woman players in Illinois from the mid-70s through the mid-80s, starting with Big Blue out of Lombard, then the National Bank of Rochelle and later with Prairie Moon Saloon of Rockford.
Always an outstanding athlete, Beimal was the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship to Northern Illinois University. She was also the only woman to ever play three major sports – volleyball, basketball and softball – for four years at NIU. She brought that combination of athletic skill and tenacity to her USSSA career.
Beimal was a .610 lifetime average place hitter who prided herself on talking the ball “wherever it was most advantageous to our team.”
Once on the base paths, the fun was just starting for Beimal, who was particularly adept at manufacturing runs.
“I always enjoyed base running,” she said. “And I loved to make the defense throw the ball around and away.”
Even when she made a mistake, Beimal made up for it. On one occasion, she was charged with an error on a difficult play with two outs in the seventh inning of a previously perfect game. Disappointed but not shaken, she responded by turning a double play on the next batter, salvaging a no-hitter for her pitcher.
Beimal likely would have received more national attention if she had played on more nationally competitive teams, but she valued playing with people she knew and liked more than tournament trophies.
“The USSSA organization should be commended for its outstanding efforts in bringing quality athletics to girls of all ages and color, across the nation. [It] has helped literally hundreds of thousands of young girls develop into strong, confident, successful women. I am grateful and I will speak for all those who were given the same opportunity when I say ‘thank you’ from the bottom of my heart.”
While her teams did not always dominate tournaments, Beimal certainly stood out. One season, she was named the tournament MVP in five of the seven tournaments her team played. She won eleven MVPs overall, and was also MVP of an All-Star game.
After nearly 25 years in the game, Beimal appreciates the USSSA experience more than ever. Now a Dean of Students at a high school for troubled youth in Florida, she plays softball recreationally; however, it’s the well-being of future generations that’s most important to her.
True to her calling as a coach and mentor to young people, Beimal is thankful to the USSSA not just for what the sport has given her, but also for the opportunities it affords countless girls throughout the country.
“The USSSA organization should be commended for its outstanding efforts in bringing quality athletics to girls of all ages and color, across the nation,” Beimal said. “[It] has helped literally hundreds of thousands of young girls develop into strong, confident, successful women. I am grateful and I will speak for all those who were given the same opportunity when I say ‘thank you’ from the bottom of my heart.”
The Illinois USSSA Hall of Fame returns that sentiment and honors a great softball player and role model.