SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Ayami Sato wants to learn and teach during the inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League. She also wants to help establish the WPBL as a viable option for international players.
Widely considered the top female pitcher in the world, Sato was one of eight WPBL players born in Japan on the league's rosters going into its opening weekend. The United States accounted for 33 of the league's 65 players, followed by Canada (11), Japan, Mexico (five) and Australia (four).
“It’s incredible and meaningful that Japanese players now have the opportunity to play in this league, too,” Sato said through a translator. “I’m sure there are many talented players in Japan who have dreams of playing here, but until now not many have been able to take the first step because Japan is such a small island and there are so many obstacles, like (the) language barrier, or they’re just afraid of (leaving) the country.”
Sato pitched three innings for Los Angeles in the WPBL's first game on Saturday night. She surrendered seven runs, four earned, and 10 hits, but the Queens rallied for a dramatic 10-8 victory over the New York Heights. South Korea's Rakyung Kim allowed four runs in four innings for New York.
The WPBL's inaugural season is being played at Springfield’s Robin Roberts Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 5,200 and opened in 1925. The San Francisco Firebells beat the Boston Hunters 11-3 on Sunday night in the second game for the four-team league.
Eight of the top 20 players selected in the WPBL's November draft were from outside the U.S., led by Sato at No. 2 overall. Shortstop Thaima Maximiliana, the league's lone player from Curaçao, went to Los Angeles at No. 18.
Team Canada star Alli Schroder was the No. 5 pick. She was named captain of the Hunters on Friday.
“To have the opportunity to shape a franchise for the first time is super exciting,” Schroder said. “I’m really excited to build from the ground up. I think that this was a dream of mine just to play professional baseball. So now to be a captain, it’s even more than that.”
The 36-year-old Sato is one of the league's most accomplished players. She is a six-time World Cup champion with Team Japan, winning the tournament MVP award three times.
“Japan has a rich baseball culture and one of the biggest things I’d like to bring (to) this league is the importance of preparation,” Sato said. “From my experience in Japan, I’ve learned that when you prepare well, you’re able to perform at your best.”
But Sato also is hoping playing in the WPBL will be an educational experience for her as well.
“One of the things I really love about American baseball is how players fully embrace who they are,” she said. “So they express their personalities without holding back. And I think that’s something really special. It’s something I’d like to learn from while I’m here as well.”
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New York Heights' Rakyung Kim pitches during the fourth inning of the inaugural Women's Professional Baseball League game against the Los Angeles Queens, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Lexie Knight)
Los Angeles Queens' Ayami Sato pitches during the fourth inning of the inaugural Women's Professional Baseball League game against the New York Heights, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Lexie Knight)
Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said Sunday.
The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.
A total of about 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.
Fire and law enforcement officials said there had been no reports of injuries or people unaccounted for — but they stressed it was early in the response effort.
Officials also said that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital.
Video from the Spokane area showed buildings on fire, black smoke billowing up near neighborhoods, and the smoking ruins of homes, with only chimneys still standing. Several officials expressed concern that the area does not appear likely to get a break in coming days from the weather, which is expected to remain dry.
“We are not out of danger,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said during a news conference with federal, state and local officials in Spokane. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”
Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.
Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.
Crews using bulldozers and helicopters continued for a 10th day to fight a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles (about 1,360 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.
The weather in the area was expected to remain sunny — and dry — well into the week, with temperatures rising to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday. Officials say the fire was caused by lightning.
In central Utah, a massive blaze more than doubled in size over the weekend, jumping from 16 square miles (about 41 square kilometers) to about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers) by Sunday morning. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.
Officials called the fire “catastrophic" as heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines overnight. The fire is moving north toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the southern portion of Fillmore.
The National Weather Service issued warnings about the air quality across the northwest. It issued red flag fire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California and Nevada and northern Montana.
While temperatures Sunday in Spokane were forecast to remain below 80 F (27 C), wind gusts from 35 mph (56 kph) to 45 mph (72 kph) had been expected by the afternoon, said Benjamin Cossel, public information officer for the federal response team from California called in Saturday night to deal with the fires.
“We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us,” Cossel said.
There were three fires in the Spokane area: the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and the Meadowview Fire. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday, and the National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington.
Cossel said that as it gets warmer during the day, cool air that's closer to the ground and keeping winds at bay will rise, allowing those winds to move through the area. The Spokane River cuts through the city of about 229,000 people, and there are steep canyons on both sides that channel the wind.
“They push the fire through the canyons, up, up the slopes, and then outside the slopes and around,” he said. “It's very, very hilly, very, very steep slopes, a lot of canyons that create really turbulent, really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”
Authorities in Spokane set up a shelter at the city's main convention center. About 400 people were staying there, officials said Sunday.
Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan said relatives of his were in an area affected by the fires and that they don't know if their home is still standing. He said he spoke with them as they were leaving the home.
“They’re in their car and all they can see is smoke everywhere, and it was incredibly scary for so many people,” he said during the news conference.
Heather Rosenstrater, president and CEO of Avista Corp., the area's electric and natural gas utility, said about 10,000 people were without power Sunday, down from a peak of 30,000. Avista needs to repair two transmission lines, she said, so it's possible that demand for electricity over the next few days could cause outages.
Meanwhile, several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the city that has burned about 210 square miles (544 square kilometers). Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the northwest in the Stinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles (870 square kilometers).
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what's been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
A vehicle and structure are burned on N. Skyline Dr. due to a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Structures along W. Tiffany Ave. are burned to the ground after a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Dan Munson walks in the backyard of his home on W. TIffany Ave. after it burned in a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Allen Sather and his wife Kimberley embrace at the duplex they rent on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
A small flame continues to consume a structure on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned down in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Allen Sather stands in front of his 1968 Chevrolet C20 at the duplex he rented on W. Indian Trail Rd. that burned in the a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
A charred van is parked by a building that burned down on W. Indian Trail Rd. in the aftermath of a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Kimberley Sather stands at the duplex she rents on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Andrew Rowley watches Old Trails Fire from Dwight Merkel Sports Complex after evacuating, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Old Trails Fire is seen from W. Northwest Blvd., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Old Trails Fire burns near Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
