Philadelphia’ Mo’ne Davis delivers in the first inning against Nashville, Tenn. during a baseball game in United States pool play at the Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Friday, Aug. 15, 2014.
(Updated 8/16/2014) Thirteen-year-old Mo’ne Davis has pitched her way to notoriety after throwing a complete game shutout to send her team, the Taney Dragons, to the Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS). Davis’, believed to be the first African-American girl (and the 18th girl) to play in the LLBWS, challenged Major League pitcher Clayton Kershaw, considered the best pitcher in baseball, to a “pitch-off.”
Davis led her Pennsylvania squad to victory over Delaware in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament final, pitching a complete game and leading her team to an 8-0 victory, sending them to the World Series opening round. Davis would later appear on ESPN and challenge Los Angeles Dodger’s pitcher Clayton Kershaw to a pitch-off.
In a video response also on ESPN, the Dodgers’ ace congratulated Davis for securing her team’s trip to the championship round, adding, “I heard you’re ready for a pitch-off. I don’t know exactly what that means but I’m prepared, I’m ready for whenever you can make it out to LA.”
Davis has a fastball that tops off at 70 mph and is an eighth grade honor student at Philadelphia’s Springside Chestnut Hill Academy according to the New York Daily News.
Davis and her team took the field against Nashville on Aug. 15. They won this opening round to the World Series 4-0, with Davis pitching six innings, making her, the New York Times reports, the first girl to earn a win in a Little League World Series. According to the New York Times, the Nashville pitcher had reached the 85-pitch limit at the end of the fifth inning, while Davis had thrown less than half the limit.
