The Bantam AAA Atlantics started in Dartmouth on Friday, and the starting pitcher for the home team is a star on the rise.

Katie Hagen is youngest player to ever crack the Canadian National Women’s team lineup, and she doesn’t plan on stopping there.

Over the first two weeks of September, the then 15-year-old pitched for Team Canada at the World Cup of Baseball in Korea.

“It was the coolest baseball experience I've ever had,” Katie says. “Just meeting all the new girls, the teammates, and performing at that level is awesome."

Katie pitched five innings for Canada in an 18-4 win over India.

It was a proud moment for her father, Scott Hagen, who made the trip to Korea with her and witnessed the team take home silver medals.

"It's huge for a 15-year-old,” says Hagen. “To see the composure, the way that she kept her wits about herself, the senior girls on the team were absolutely fantastic with her."

The young pitcher is used to overcoming adversity. Katie is visually impaired, but uses a trick with her catcher to read the signs.

"We usually paint the fingers bright colours so I can see them,” says Katie. “Bantam distance isn't so bad, but when I get back to full distance, which is 60 feet, it becomes a lot harder to see."

Katie is the only girl on her bantam team. Her coach, Joe Hicks, says she's an inspiration to young girls interested in playing ball.

"She's proven herself to be one of the best players in our league and it showed on the world stage,” Hicks says. “She was lights-out in her game against India. It was exciting."

Baseball is a bit of a family tradition in Hagen’s family. Her grandfather, John Hagen, was drafted to the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie team in the 1960s.

"He hurt his arm. He was a left-handed pitcher,” says Katie. “My brother played, then I played."

Katie turned 16 while in Korea, and plans to keep playing for years to come.

"Baseball's awesome. It's a sport that everyone on the field is involved, and you're going to have the people tell you not to play cause you're a girl, but that just wants to make you play even more," she says.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau.