Ex-Minnesota teen softball player recalls sobbing after game against trans pitcher ruined career

WHITE BEAR LAKE, MINNESOTA: Kendall Kotzmacher, a former Minnesota high school softball player, spoke about losing to a transgender pitcher in the state tournament, saying that the state feels less safe, which has made her and her family afraid.

Kotzmacher said that she will never forget stepping up to bat against Marissa Rothenberger.

Kendall Kotzmacher opens up on loss to trans pitcher

During the Minnesota state tournament semifinal, Kendall Kotzmacher and her White Bear Lake High School teammates hoped to make it to the state championship game.

Kotzmacher had just moved to White Bear Lake for her last year, wanting to win a championship with her little sister, who was also on the team. But Rothenberger, a transgender athlete, was pitching that day for their opponent, Champlin Park High School.

"They're moving ten times more," Kotzmacher told Fox News Digital of Rothenberger's pitches. "I have seen movement pitches, so when your hands are bigger than a biological female at that age, in Minnesota especially, you're spinning the ball ten times more. And I would actually say that this athlete wasn't on their best game that day, but even at half their best, they're still blowing it past us, spinning the ball more, making it so we can't hit." 

Kotzmacher focused enough to hit the ball off Rothenberger that day, but Rothenberger held White Bear Lake to only two runs on seven hits. That was the most runs scored against Rothenberger in the entire postseason. Still, it wasn't enough, because in the final innings, Rothenberger also came up to bat. 

Rothenberger held White Bear Lake to two runs and then hit a crucial double in the final innings, setting up the winning run for Champlin Park.

Kotzmacher said Rothenberger hit every pitch hard, making it difficult to call the game. The loss ended Kotzmacher’s high school career and her dream of winning a state championship, which left her crying with her sister.

She further said that she struggled to come to terms with losing to a "biological male" in a girls’ state tournament. 

Intervention from Trump administration and Democrats' resistance

The incident was reviewed by the Donald Trump administration, which decided that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) violated Title IX by allowing it to happen.

The institution has been given until October 10 to update its rules to allow only females in girls’ sports, or it could be referred to the Department of Justice.

Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, has resisted the Trump administration’s order and defended trans participation despite lawsuits and a failed state bill to ban it. Kotzmacher attended a rally in support of the bill, which inspired her to speak up for other girls.  

Kendall Kotzmacher backs women's sports and criticises Democrats

Kendall Kotzmacher has grown close to XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey amid the recent activism surrounding the issue of "saving women's sports." 

Kotzmacher even took a dig at Democratic leadership, saying Minnesota feels unsafe and has changed for the worse, leaving her and her team frustrated.

She hopes that the Trump administration’s intervention on the matter will ensure that her younger sister will have a fair and safe season, and is relieved about the issue being recognised at a higher level.