SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In the bottom of the second inning of an early-September game, San Francisco Firebells starter Kelsie Whitmore walked the first batter she faced. She got the next three batters to fly or pop out, retiring the Boston Hunters’ side in seven pitches before heading back to the dugout.There, she swapped her cap for a helmet and warmed up for the on-deck circle. Moments later, Whitmore cleared the fences for her 10th home run of the 15-game season. Relieved in the fifth inning, she slotted straight into center field for the final frames.That’s just how things work in the Women’s Professional Baseball League.Whitmore, the No. 1 pick in the WPBL Draft last November, is one of many three-way players in the league. And many of them aren’t on the diamond.“I’m not the only one here sleep-deprived,” Justine Siegal, league commissioner and co-founder, told The Athletic. “Everyone just really cares about the mission and making sure the players have a good experience, and fans, and making sure that we have season two.”The WPBL just completed its inaugural regular season in Springfield, Ill. Playoffs begin Wednesday with a semifinal between the top-seeded Firebells and fourth-seeded Hunters. But the focus has been on next season — and the season after that, and the season after that — since Opening Day.“We really need to strategically grow, not just for next year, but know that we’re on the right path for Year 10,” Siegal said. “The good news is we have nothing but potential.”It’s been a full sprint through a short season for everyone involved since the league debuted Aug. 1. The WPBL’s small operations staff — and its players, who’ve helped with coaching, marketing, broadcasting and even groundskeeping — have been fully occupied, with most doing work outside their job descriptions to get the league off the ground.But despite the hard work that’s gone into making Robin Roberts Stadium home base for Year 1, many seem genuinely happy to be there.“Winning games with your friends and being around your teammates is just the best feeling ever,” Los Angeles Queens catcher and unofficial league hypewoman Maggie Foxx said. “This is dream life. This is absolutely dream life.”“To be on the field with all these girls, and we’re all pursuing our childhood dream at the exact same time, it’s been very special,” Hunters pitcher and No. 5 pick Alli Schroder said before starting on her bobblehead giveaway night.“I think I speak for everybody when I say that this has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us.”The WPBL is working to ensure playing in the league is not just a once-in-a-lifetime experience but something women can do and girls can aspire to for years to come. The league says it sold more than 55,000 tickets in the regular season. ESPN did not make TV viewership numbers available, but the commissioner is pleased.“Everything from media coverage, ticket sales, merch sales, we can’t keep up,” Siegal said. “So for the most part, it’s been a real success.”But the inaugural season has not been without its challenges, its breakneck pace being one of them.Pitchers struggled considerably compared to hitters over the regular season. With only four teams and games Wednesday through Sunday, pitchers are not only getting worked hard — extra hard, considering most of them are three-way players — but hitters see them so often they are learning to read even the league’s top talent.“One mistake can really change the entire game, so I have to stay completely focused from the very beginning until the very end,” said Ayami Sato, the six-time Women’s Baseball World Cup winner with Japan who was drafted No. 2 overall by the LA Queens, through her interpreter, Mayo Hirano.It’s a symptom of the league’s setup. On their off days, players roam the ballpark, interacting with fans and camping out in the bleachers to watch their friends and competitors play. For athletes who live and breathe baseball, it’s natural to assume they pick up on some nuances as they watch the competition.The season was short out of necessity. Siegal needed to find a site that wasn’t already occupied by a men’s team. International leagues aren’t playing right now, and many players were in the area already because the group stage of the Women’s Baseball World Cup was in Rockford, Ill., in July. Plus, for collegiate athletes heading back to school, a late summer season won’t cut into their spring sports.The idea was to bring all the athletes to a single venue with existing infrastructure for a short, action-packed first season before hopefully establishing a presence in their namesake cities. Springfield ultimately fit the bill.The league has experienced some bumps in the road along the way. Hunters manager Keith Foulke was fired three games into the season, half an hour before a game, in an apparent miscommunication over his schedule. And a WPBL board member filed a court order on July 13 asking for full access to the league’s financial records, alleging the league repeatedly ignored requests for basic financial information and its sources of financial capital.“That’s what I would like to see going forward, is growth, development of the game, development of players, development of the staffs and forward movement,” said Jemile Weeks, who replaced Foulke as Hunters manager. “Hopefully some good partnerships and opportunities collaborate with this going down the road, and then you got something big.”That growth won’t be easy. For some, it’s tough to drop everything to get into tip-top pitching shape when your career isn’t playing baseball. The Queens’ Meggie Meidlinger and her architecture firm just finished renovating the University of Georgia’s baseball stadium. The New York Heights’ Val Perez is a head coach in the Banana Ball system and also one of several former or current volunteer or professional firefighters and first responders in the WPBL.Many players are students, spouses and mothers, full-time jobs in their own right. Taking time away from school, family and careers for a season paycheck of about $6,000 is a big ask. With inconsistent access to training facilities and routines outside Springfield, pitchers seem to be bearing the brunt.Then there are the language barriers.Eleven countries are represented in the WPBL. On the Queens alone, three languages — Japanese, Spanish and English — fly around the dugout. But players are making an effort to learn for their teammates. They cheer in their teammates’ native languages when they step up to the plate and text in a group chat to break down games once they’re at the hotel, with interpreter apps at their fingertips. Hirano helps translate for other Japanese players, but only unofficially. Unlike in MLB, the WPBL does not employ interpreters.“Ever since the beginning of the season, some of my teammates have even studied Japanese ahead of time and tried to speak to us in Japanese,” Sato said through Hirano. “Even with different languages, we are finding ways to communicate with each other.”An experienced veteran in a new league, Ayami Sato, center, uses positivity to lead her team and help navigate language barriers. (Jackie Kalafut / WPBL)Players haven’t been the only ones struggling with communication.