She's the only girl in Nottoway's baseball league, but it wasn't her choice

NOTTOWAY COUNTY, Va. -- It’s a Tuesday morning, and 7-year-old Codie Gunther is getting in some batting practice with her dad before school.

“Better throw it good girl,” said Jay Gunther, as his daughter giggled.

By the looks of her stance and fielding abilities, you wouldn’t know Codie’s brand new to baseball.

“I’ve never seen a girl play,” she explained.

That’s because she’s the only girl on her team and in the league.

“I really am,” she laughed.

Despite her smile now, joining the boys league wasn’t Codie’s choice.

“I did not want to play baseball with the boys,” she said. “ It was terrible. I started crying in my car.”

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When Jay and Stephanie Gunther went to sign Codie up for her third year of Dixie Softball in Nottoway County, they learned she wasn’t allowed to play.

“It does make you a little angry because when she first started, she was able to do that,” explained Stephanie.

That’s because the Gunthers live in Brunswick County, and Dixie Softball’s rules don’t allow girls who live out of the county to play for another locality.

But according to the Nottoway Youth Recreation Association (NYRA), for years, they’ve let girls, like Codie, play regular season games without any problem.

Parents just had to sign a waiver saying their child was not eligible for All-Stars, a summer league made up of the best players from each county.

“That was perfectly fine, as long as she could go and share the love of the sport and play with her friends,” said Stephanie. “We both work in Nottoway, and she goes to school in Blackstone. The babysitter and everything is here.”

This year, the NYRA says they were informed that if they allowed anyone out of boundaries to play, they would potentially lose their franchise agreement with Dixie Softball.

“It was sad to leave my friends behind when I can't even see them anymore,” said Codie.

“To cut it out completely has really been kind of heartbreaking for her,” Stephanie explained.

For several Southside Virginia families, like the Gunthers, who work or whose kids go to school in a neighboring town, making it to afternoon practices or games in their home county just isn’t possible.

“There is some kids that would probably love to play a sport, and some of them just can't because, like, out here to go from town to town is 30 to 40 minutes,” noted Jay.

For Dixie Youth Baseball, the rules are different. Children can play for the county they live or go to school in and can even make All-Stars.

“We don't want to take something that she loves from her, so what else can we do?,” said Stephanie. “And then we were told we could sign her up for baseball."

Codie wasn’t sold on the idea at first.

“They’re boys,” she explained.

But this catcher is tough and loves dominating the diamond.

“When we have tons of points and the other team loses and we win, I'm like lets go,” she yelled.

So, Codie is giving baseball a shot.

She may be the only player on the infield with a ponytail, but she’s got her coaches and the league’s attention.

“Her first game of the season, the umpire came up to her after the game and gave her the game ball because he said, hey, you can hang with the boys, you deserve this,” explained Jay.

“It's been a blessing in disguise, because I'm very grateful she can still do something she loves,” said an emotional Stephanie.

Despite their daughter’s success on the baseball field, the Gunthers are still advocating for this Dixie Softball rule to change to better reflect the rules of the boys league.

They want all little girls to have a chance to grow the love of the game, and so does the Nottoway Youth Recreation Association.

"If it keeps on happening, what will I do?,” asked Codie. “I will be like, no, I can't play with the girls anymore!”

But for now, the Gunthers are enjoying Codie’s catches and throws, as well as taking pride in the life lessons their seven-year-old is learning.

“I feel like it's so empowering for her to be out there with the boys and she's playing baseball and you know, she's doing just as good as they are,” said Stephanie. “And she has a great attitude, and all of her teammates are cheering her on. It's so empowering, knowing that women still have that effect."

Meanwhile, Codie has her eye on the pitch straight ahead.

“I feel like when I run to bases and when I come home, it makes everyone proud,” she smiled.

This fiery seven-year-old has certainly made her parents proud.

CBS 6 reached out to the Dixie Softball Director for Virginia to find out why Nottoway could no longer allow girls to play regular season games out of county. We also wanted to learn why the rules are different for baseball and softball regarding out of county play.

We received a statement reading, “Dixie Softball has rules and policies in place to govern local league boundary. Every league is expected to follow these rules and regulations as they are written."

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