Meet Little League’s Groundbreaking Girl Hero
Our Queen of the Day, Mo’Ne Davis isn’t just any old queen, but a Queen of Diamonds, by which I mean BASEBALL diamonds. (I know, puns are so stupid but they’re also so much fun!)
Davis is a 13-year-old pitcher for the Taney Dragons, the Mid-Atlantic champions from Philadelphia who will kick off the Little League World Series today against South Nashville, Tennessee in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Not only is Davis one of the Dragons’ star players, she’s also the first girl on an American team in the Little League World Series in 10 years (and one of 18 in the history of any World Series team). There’s only one other girl in the series this year, Emily March on Vancouver’s team who plays first base and pitches.
Davis is a straight-up warrior of an athlete. Known for both her fastballs and curveballs, Davis has been kicking ass and taking names for her team all season long. For those of you who are baseball nerds, here’s the nerd report: Davis struck out six in a complete-game, three-hit shutout in an 8-0 win in the regional final and had 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings during the regional tournament in Bristol, Connecticut. She’s also a rock star at the plate.
“When she hits a home run, we like to say that she hits like a girl,” her coach Alex Rice jokes.
I love this so much, I want it printed and framed, and from now on I want “hits all the home runs” to be what someone is talking about when they say someone “hits like a girl.”
Davis is used to players on opposing teams being weird about the whole girl thing, but she takes it in stride:
“I end up striking them out (on the opposing team), and I look at my teammates and they’re laughing, so I just laugh with them,” Davis says.
As excited as she must be to be kicking off the Little League World Series, she also seems to be super stoked about the prospect of being a role model athlete, and she’s got some words of wisdom to go along with her new status.
“Don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you like,” Davis told the Today Show, in regards to inspiring other girls. “Just keep dreaming and go for it.”
