Fast Pitch

Content Warning: This section of the Guide discusses themes surrounding racism and sexism in sports, including intimidation. Additionally, the source text uses outdated and offensive terms for Black people, replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

Twelve-year-old Shenice is the captain of the Fulton Firebirds, the first all-Black girls’ softball team in the Dixie Youth Softball Association. It’s the bottom of the sixth inning, and the game could go either way. Playing catcher, Shenice sees the opposing team’s coach signal for the player on third base to steal home. They stop the steal, though the girl makes it back to base (and the umpire calls her safe). The Firebirds lose the game when the opposing team hits a home run. The ride back on the bus is silent as Shenice feels she’s let her team down.

Shenice has breakfast with her dad, mom, and brother the following day. While her mom prays over the food, Shenice gets lost in her thoughts about the previous day’s game and how she let her team down. Her parents bring her back to the table by getting her attention. After the meal, her father puts her brother on dish duty and tells Shenice to follow him upstairs—even though he should not be climbing stairs because of a childhood knee injury that still bothers him.