14-year-old Merrick girl catches attention of MLB scouts

<p>A 14-year-old female baseball player from Merrick has caught the attention of Major League Baseball scouts.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 31, 2018, 12:58 PM

Updated 2,320 days ago

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A 14-year-old female baseball player from Merrick has caught the attention of Major League Baseball scouts.
Olivia Roberto says she has been playing baseball since she was 5 years old. This season she made history by becoming the first girl to make the Calhoun High School Junior Varsity team.
Roberto has won four of her six starts and was named MVP.
“She is an absolute fierce competitor,” says her dad Peter Roberto. “You can't tell her no, I think that's what makes her tick.”
Roberto will spend this weekend at Major League Baseball's Breakthrough Series in Florida, an invitation-only camp just for girls. The camp only selects 65 girls, and Roberto is the only one from Long Island.
 
“I have a lot to learn and getting that advice from the pros and team U.S.A. players, that's cool because they know more than me,” she says.

Roberto says she tried softball when she was younger, but calls it too cutesy and says she was hungry for more competition.
The 14-year-old also plays on an all-girls travel baseball team that won a tournament last year by beating all boys teams.