Housed in a former pocketbook factory in Astoria, Queens, the tiny Baccalaureate School for Global Education is an elite public high school with a rigorous academic curriculum. Founded in 2002, it has only about 400 students, no gym, no playing fields and no auditorium.
Students who want to play on the school’s softball team, for instance, have to take two subway lines and then walk another 10 minutes to a remote practice field in Woodside. There is no bus to take them to away games against distant schools in Far Rockaway or Queens Village, and the players must hope the head coach arrives from her other job before the second inning, traffic permitting.
It is not the ideal setting for a sports powerhouse, but the Baccalaureate girls’ softball team, known as the Sting, is not only good; it dominates.
The squad, made up of a cohesive group of dedicated players, rolled through its 2024 schedule undefeated (14-0) and capped an improbable season by winning the Public Schools Athletic League 2A division championship, Baccalaureate’s first title in any sport.
“We are such a small school,” said Nina Davidson, a shortstop and the Sting’s top hitter. “To win it all, it’s an insane thing to wrap my head around.”
Baccalaureate is considered one of the best academic institutions in New York City, and it’s ranked the 10th best public high school in the state by U.S. News & World Report. Students are screened to get in and they take college-level classes during their final two years, with the goal of receiving an International Baccalaureate diploma.
The workload is demanding, and many of the softball players, like Ariella Fisher, a freshman catcher, do some of their homework on train rides to practices and games because, during softball season, they are often on a field from school dismissal until 6 p.m.
