‘A gigantic role.’ What to expect when Lexington Legends host Women in Sports Day.

In a season that has featured groundbreaking firsts for women in baseball in Lexington, one of the city’s professional teams is dedicating a day to celebrating women in sports.

Friday night’s Atlantic League of Professional Baseball game between the Lexington Legends and Staten Island FerryHawks has been billed by the Legends as Women in Sports Day at Wild Health Field in Lexington.

As part of the celebration, the first 500 fans at the game will receive a Maci Morris bobblehead, in honor of the former Kentucky high school basketball and UK women’s basketball standout.

The matchup between the Legends and FerryHawks means that Kelsie Whitmore — a pitcher and outfielder for Staten Island who this season became the first woman to be in the starting lineup and the first woman to pitch in the Atlantic League — will be in town.

Whitmore’s debut on the mound in the Atlantic League came in May against the Legends, and she’s appeared in seven games as a pitcher this season (along with 24 plate appearances) as of Wednesday afternoon.

There’s also been a legacy of women in baseball for Stands LLC, which owns the Lexington Legends and oversees Lexington’s other Atlantic League team, the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes.

“Our ownership is led by my mom (Susan) and it’s my mom, my brother (Steve) and I, so that is something that is literally part of every single day,” Stands LLC CEO Andy Shea said. “A lot of it is my mom’s leadership and her viewpoints on a lot of things.”

Prior to their move to the Atlantic League in 2021, the Legends had several winners of the South Atlantic League Female Executive of the Year award and also one of only two female play-by-play broadcasters in minor league baseball in Emma Tiedemann, who now does play-by-play work for the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox).

Earlier this year, Lindsay Gardner was hired by the Genomes as a hitting development coordinator.

This made Gardner the first female coach in Atlantic League history.

Additionally, in March the Genomes selected Alexis “Scrappy” Hopkins, a catcher, with the eighth overall pick during the Atlantic League’s annual player draft.

According to the Genomes, Hopkins is believed to be the first female position player ever drafted by an American pro baseball team for an on-field role. She is also the first woman drafted in Atlantic League history.

Hopkins serves as the bullpen catcher for the Genomes.

“There have been a lot of things that we really have been at the forefront of and it is important for us. It is intentional for us,” Shea said of opportunities for women in baseball in Lexington.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Herald-Leader this summer, Hopkins spoke about the historic progress made by women in baseball like herself, Gardner and Whitmore.

“We are just another ballplayer, but it’s also really cool because we are women,” Hopkins told the Herald-Leader in July. “We get to walk as very brave and strong women . . . it’s so cool to connect with these wonderful ladies and look at a lot of them as role models too in this world. We’re proud to be women, without a doubt, but we’re also just proud to be another ballplayer and get to play the game that we love.”

Shea, who has an eight-month-old daughter, said he is already looking forward to being able to show her pictures of women in their baseball roles with the Genomes and Legends.

“It makes my day every time I get a text or see an email, whether it’s from someone I know or someone random, saying how excited they were to bring their daughter to the ballpark to see (Hopkins),” Shea said.

So what can fans expect for Women in Sports Day?

“It will be an all-around highlight and celebration for so many females that, whether it’s specifically playing sports, working in sports, mother of a child in sports, every single one of them plays a gigantic role in so many people’s lives,” Shea said. “We’re looking forward to just a big celebration of that.”

Morris, UK players help flood-relief efforts in Eastern Kentucky

Last week, Morris and several members of the Kentucky women’s basketball team hosted a basketball camp to help with flood-relief efforts in Eastern Kentucky.

The “606 Basketball Camp” featured Morris — who is from Pineville and was named Miss Kentucky Basketball during a decorated high school career at Bell County — along with three current players on the UK women’s team from Eastern Kentucky: Blair Green (Harlan County), Emma King (Lincoln County) and Cassidy Rowe (Shelby Valley).

The camp, which was held at North Laurel High School in London, also featured the North Laurel boys’ basketball team and UK men’s basketball commit Reed Sheppard.

Last weekend, Morris was part of the inaugural hall of fame class at Bell County.

Women in Sports Day

What: Lexington Legends vs. Staten Island FerryHawks

When: 6:35 p.m. Friday (gates open at 5 p.m.)

Where: Wild Health Field (Lexington)

Tickets: Visit LexingtonLegends.com for tickets