Thirteen-year-old Mo’Ne Davis throws like a girl. Luckily for her Pennsylvania Little League team, that means she’s one of the best pitchers out there.
Davis, who regularly clocks pitches at 70 mph, will compete with her team, the Philadelphia Taney Dragons, in the Little League World Series. The games start Thursday in Williamsport, Pa.
Mo’Ne threw a three-hit shutout Sunday to lead her team to victory during the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, which gave her team its berth into the World Series. Once the games start, Mo’Ne will join a small group of girls–she will be one of only 18 girls to play in the Little League World Series in the past 67 years.
When asked about the significance of playing in the World Series, Mo’Ne downplayed it: “It does mean a lot to be the first American girl, but more girls should start joining boys’ teams,” she told philly.com. “The attention should not just be on one girl; more girls should join boys’ teams so it is a tradition and it won’t be so special.”
But don’t think for one minute Mo’Ne doesn’t get it. Her song when she walks up to bat? Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls).”
Mo’Ne doesn’t want to play baseball forever. In fact, it’s her dream to be a professional basketball player in the WNBA. She told ESPN, “No matter who you are, you should be able to do what you like to do and what you’ve always dreamed of doing.”
You go, Mo’Ne. We’ll be watching.
Image via philly.com
ViaGrantland