Sixth grader Paz Marrero appeared on the Today Show March 8 with her New York Wonders baseball team and met female Little League pioneer Maria Pepe in honor of Women’s History Month.

Marrero is a Pelham Middle School student, and her jersey number is 07.

Pepe was one of the first girls to play Little League, trailblazing a path for future girls that wanted to go into baseball.

“I felt over the moon happy because I met someone famous that has helped girls,” Marrero said of meeting Pepe on the show. “I can tell people that I met the woman that fought for girls to be able to play Little League baseball.”

Pepe played Little League for a handful of games in New Jersey starting in 1972 but was forced off the field by the national Little League organization, enforcing a ban on girls from the fifties. By the time she won a court case, she was too old to play.

Pepe sounded proud of all the girls on the show who are players for the New York Wonders. “I do get to play forever through all the girls who came after me,” she said on the Today Show.

The New York Wonders is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping girls learn baseball in a safe environment.

“I love my team because we are a close group,” said Marrero. “We live in different parts of the country, but we keep in touch and support each other. When we play together against other teams we never give up hope.”

“I think Women’s History Month is important because some women have been told they can’t do what boys can do, and in Women’s History Month, we celebrate that women can do everything just like the boys,” said Marrero.