Ayami Sato threw a complete-game shutout as the Los Angeles Queens beat the San Francisco Firebells 2-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, winning the inaugural Women's Pro Baseball League championship.

Sato, 36, needed just 71 pitches across seven innings to seal the title in Game 5 of the series. She allowed five singles, walked nobody and struck out one in a game that lasted one hour and 49 minutes, the Rafu Shimpo reported.

Both were league firsts.

"In the first meeting we had together, Sato said, 'I want to be a champion.' And now she's a champion," Queens manager Eric Young Sr. said after receiving the trophy at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill.

Young, a former MLB All-Star who played 15 major-league seasons including two stints with the Dodgers, guided a Queens roster that finished the regular season 8-7. The Firebells entered the championship series as the top seed at 10-5.

The Queens won the first two games before San Francisco won Games 3 and 4, scoring 27 combined runs to force a deciding fifth game. Sato, who posted a 6.09 ERA during the regular season, dominated in the playoffs. She earned Championship Series MVP honors with a 3.27 ERA across 11 innings and wins in Games 2 and 5, according to MLB.com.

The Queens' offense did its damage in the third inning. Mo'ne Davis, the No. 10 overall pick in the Nov. 20, 2025, Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) Draft, drove in the first run with an RBI single. Captain Ashton Lansdell's grounder to short scored the second.

Davis, 24, became a national name at 13 when she became the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history in 2014. Lansdell was the No. 7 pick in the draft.

Sato was the No. 2 overall selection behind San Francisco's Kelsie Whitmore. A six-time Women's Baseball World Cup champion with Team Japan and three-time tournament MVP, Sato made history in 2025 as the first woman to play for a professional men's baseball team in Canada, according to MLB.com.

The WPBL is the first professional women's baseball league in the United States since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954. The inaugural season featured four teams and ran from Aug. 1 through Sept. 6, with all games played at Robin Roberts Stadium.

Queens catcher Jamie Mackay hails from Laguna Beach. Infielder Ayuri Shimano hit .423 with a 1.251 OPS across eight postseason games, according to the OC Register.

After the final out, the Queens celebrated with champagne on the field rather than in a clubhouse. Sato addressed the crowd through her partner and translator, Mayo Hirano, then shouted two words in English: "Enjoy baseball!"

The WPBL has not announced plans for a 2027 season.