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. 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.

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Persons: Sting, Baccalaureate’s Organizations: School, Global Education, softball, Public Schools Athletic League Locations: Astoria , Queens, Woodside, Far Rockaway, Queens