Olivia Pichardo made college baseball history as both a hitter and a pitcher at Brown University. She was/is the first woman to play both positions during a Division I contest, on separate occasions.
The two-way senior toed the rubber for the first time over the weekend.
Pichardo did not allow a hit or a walk during the lone appearance of her four-year college baseball career. The 5-foot-7, 165-pound righty finished with a 0.00 ERA!
Who is Olivia Pichardo?
Pichardo grew up playing baseball. The Queens, New York-native played for one of the most prominent travel baseball organizations in the state and one of the best baseball programs in the northeast. She also played varsity high school baseball as a seventh and eighth-grader. Never softball.
Her dominance, both on the mound and at the plate, earned her the opportunity to play for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team. Olivia Pichardo mowed them down one after one.
Clocked at only 81 miles per hour on her fastball in high school, she was best known for her arsenal of filthy off-speed pitches. D1 commits swung and missed.
Pichardo ultimately did not receive an opportunity to play college baseball out of the Garden School so she enrolled at Brown University as a regular student with a concentration on business economics. That in itself is pretty impressive.
And then it was time to make history.
The Bears hold tryouts for students every fall. Pichardo went out for the team as a freshman in 2022. Former head coach Grant Achilles loved what he saw.
“It’s a workout common for baseball and allows us to evaluate athleticism and arm strength, as well as both offensive and defensive skills. That day, Olivia put together the most complete walk-on tryout I have seen from a player since becoming a head coach.”
He offered her the opportunity to join the program as a walk-on. She accepted.
Prior to that point, nearly 20 women had played college baseball at various institutions across the country and there were eight women slated to suit up in 2023. But none of them played or play D1.
Oliva Pichardo became the first female to play college baseball on the Division I level!
Brown broke barriers in college baseball.
Not only did Pichardo make history by making the team, she also became the first woman to ever appear in a Division I game with a singular at-bat in 2023. It was a ground-out to first base, but still.
Congratulations to Brown's Olivia Pichardo on becoming the FIRST female to ever appear in a NCAA Division I baseball game. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6WwJnspi6F
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) March 18, 2023
She put the bat on the ball!
Here's Olivia Pichardo making history as the first woman to play in an NCAA Division I baseball game today for Brown. (First-pitch groundout.) pic.twitter.com/aQDiWovrEe
— David Adler (@_dadler) March 17, 2023
Pichardo made even more history in the summer of 2023 as the first woman to homer in the Hamptons League.
That trend continued the next summer. She crushed a three-run home run during extra innings for the Dubois County Bombers of the Prospect League in 2024.
Broadcasters: "They're going to leave Olivia Pichardo in there?"
— DCBombers (@DCBombers) June 8, 2024
Olivia Pichardo: *3-run HR in extra innings, on the road, to lead the way to a HUGE Bombers comeback win.*
And this is NOT Olivia's first hit of the season.
How can you not be romantic about (Bombers) baseball… pic.twitter.com/dbA0ySvE8s
Olivia Pichardo finished her college baseball career with four total at-bats for Brown and one run scored. However, she did not record an at-bat for the Bears as a senior in 2026.
First-year head coach Frank Holbrook still made sure to get her her moment on Senior Day. He called upon the first female baseball player in Division I history to close out the ninth inning. She recorded the final out of a win over Cornell. In doing so, she became the first woman to pitch in a Division I game.
Pichardo comes in and retires the lone batter she faces to lock down the Bears win in game 1 on Senior Day!#EverTrue pic.twitter.com/dZuwNLNKKj
— Brown Baseball (@BrownU_Baseball) April 25, 2026
To recap, Olivia Pichardo was the first woman to play Division I college baseball, the first woman to record an at-bat during a Division I college baseball game, and the first woman to pitch during a Division I college baseball game. She shattered the glass ceiling and finished her career with a 0.00 ERA!