13-Year-Old Girl Pitches Shutout, Boosts Team into LLWS
Mo’Ne Davis is a force.
The 13-year-old Taney Dragons pitcher launched her Philadelphia-based team into the Little League World Series on Sunday by pitching a shutout in the Mid-Atlantic regional championship.
PennLive.com's Jacob Klinger reports that Davis threw a three-hitter against Delaware’s Newark National squad, helping the team preserve their lead after they knocked home four runs in the first inning.
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The most impressive part of Davis' game—her ability to play with the boys notwithstanding—is her tools. Davis' fastball scrapes 70 mph.
Her curveball hits the deck hard.
Two deadly pitches is an impressive toolkit for any 13-year-old hurler, much less a youngster with dreams of playing professional basketball.
Davis told espnW (h/t Deadspin’s Tom Ley) that her first athletic tryst was hoops, and that she still hopes to play in the WNBA some day.
“I wasn’t really into baseball, I was mostly into basketball,” Davis said. “I started falling in love more [with baseball]…but I still had high hopes that I would be a WNBA player.”
Davis started in the outfield, but stepped up to the mound when the team found itself in need of arms.
“I went in to pitch and the first hit I gave up was a home run, inside the park,” Davis said. “I didn’t like that, so I started practicing more and more.”
She doesn’t throw baseballs, however. Davis throws strikes.
“If I’m pitching, I just go out and throw strikes,” Davis said. “They think I throw soft, then they see my fastball and they get kinda get scared and I just strike ‘em out.”
Someone engrave that quote in brass, because it’s going on the 1,500 awards Davis will win after she hits her growth spurt and starts slinging missiles.
Suffice it to say, I've found my favorite story of the 2014 Little League World Series. Mo'Ne Davis is here to bring the heat. She is inevitable.
I just throw strikes.
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