Farmington Lady Umpire Breaks Ground

ADKINS FIRST FEMALE UMPIRE TO WORK STATE BASEBALL FINAL

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Umpires Chad Hipps (from left), James Bryan and Laurie Adkins await the start of the Class 3A state championship baseball game May 19 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. Adkins is the first female umpire to call an Arkansas state championship baseball game.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Umpires Chad Hipps (from left), James Bryan and Laurie Adkins await the start of the Class 3A state championship baseball game May 19 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. Adkins is the first female umpire to call an Arkansas state championship baseball game.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Laurie Adkins does not consider herself to be a pioneer.

Standing a few feet off the red infield dirt in shallow left field on a Friday afternoon, Adkins soaked in the sights, sounds and smells of a state championship game in Baum Stadium.

Dressed in a black polo shirt, dark grey trousers and a black cap, the veteran umpire hustled around the infield for seven innings. For most of the fans and players in the stadium, Adkins looked like every other umpire on the field that weekend. They had no idea they were seeing history being made.

Adkins, 53, became the first female umpire to work a state championship baseball game.

"It didn't cross my mind a whole lot because it's just baseball," Adkins said. "But every once in awhile I looked up and said, 'really this has never been done before.'"

She didn't get a lot of action at her third base spot on May 19, and admits to some pregame jitters before settling in.

"I really just enjoyed the smell of the grass, the sound of the game going on, the sound of the crowd," she said. The first part of the game I was a little antsy, like 'don't screw this up.' Then it just settled in and it was just a game."

Don Brodell, an executive with the Arkansas Activities Association, said he was pleased to see Adkins get the opportunity to be a ground-breaking umpire, and encouraged more females to seek umpiring jobs.

Adkins said growing up in Farmington, softball wasn't offered until she was 11 or 12 years old. By then she'd already started playing baseball with the boys. When softball finally came around, she played both.

She wanted to become a coach and was already doing some coaching when she took former Arkansas baseball coach Norm DeBriyn's Coaching Baseball class.

"He saw me work with some of the folks in softball and he asked me to teach his Coaching Baseball class," Adkins said. "Norm has been a big mentor to me."

Adkins said she chose to be a baseball umpire rather than softball because of her coaching softball. She also played in the Men's Senior Baseball League and was inducted into the MSBL Hall of Fame last year.

"Along the way I started umpiring softball and some baseball, but I knew softball was going to be my coaching field so I did not want to umpire in my coaching field," she said. "Plus baseball is a reprieve for me. I really love the beauty and the tradition of the game."

Chad Hipps is the umpire crew chief for the Class 3A state baseball tournament. He selected the crew for the state championship game and said Adkins earned her spot on the field.

Hipps said when he talked to some other umpires at the state tournament who were unfamiliar with Adkins, they were skeptical at first.

"When they found out we had a female coming over, they kind of rolled their eyes and kind of looked at me," Hipps said. "And I could tell they were not real confident in what we were doing. At the end of the tournament, every one of those guys who rolled their eyes came up to me and said 'man, she's amazing. She's one of the best umpires we've ever called with.'

"Matter of fact, because it was my choice who I brought to the championship, the same guys who were rolling their eyes when they found out they had a female calling with them that came up to me and said 'our recommendation is Laurie for the championship game.'"

Adkins said she knows she faces extra scrutiny because of her gender.

"I have felt over the years that I have to be good because they expect me to screw up," she said. "I stand out, so they expect me to screw up. So I have to really focus and be good at what I do."

Adkins said coaches who are unfamiliar with her sometimes make her a target in games.

"Coaches sometimes see me as the weakest link on the field, so sometimes they will try me first," she said. "But that usually goes away pretty quick. All the coaches around here know me now and there's such a great respect, and now when I get on the field they say how proud they are to have me there."

Brodell said Adkins had earned the chance to be the first female championship game umpire in the state by paying her dues along the way.

"This makes me feel really good," Brodell said. "I've known Laurie a long time. She's worked hard. She has a good knowledge of the rules and you watch her out on the field in this game today, she was always in good position and hustled and did a very good job."

Adkins said she'd encourage other females who are interested in umpiring baseball to seek opportunities in summer youth baseball.

"I think women would be very articulate and I think there are many women who would make really good umpires," Adkins said.

She has a believer in Hipps, who said, "I'd like to have 10 or 12 of her."

Sports on 05/31/2017