Mo'ne Davis is in a league of her own
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Mo'ne Davis has made history by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated - a first for a Little Leaguer of either sex.
Thousands lined up hours before game time for the hottest ticket in Williamsport: Watching Philadelphia's Taney Dragons. Ace pitcher Davis is a big part of the draw.
"Throwing 70 miles an hour. That's throwing like a girl," Davis told CBS News.
The 13-year-old is the only girl in Little League history to throw a complete game shutout in the World Series.
"I just got to stay calm," she said. "It's just my instinct to just calm down ... because I know we still have to bat and our bats are dangerous and you just have to stay calm with it and your team will help you out."
Her team is the first from Philadelphia ever to make it to the Little League World Series.
Twelve-year-old Kai Cummings plays center field. "It's crazy. It's just like all of the time I spent last year watching ... and this is something I finally get to do myself."
The Little Leaguers have some big-league fans, including the Philadelphia Phillies. Several Taney players were part of the Phillies' RBI program: reviving baseball in inner cities.
"This community is rallying around them and I'm very, very proud of everything they've already accomplished," Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.
Steve Bandura used to coach several Taney players from the time they first started tee-ball. His son, Scott, is on the team.
"We've proven what's done when city kids get the same opportunities as the kids in more affluent areas," he said.
Cummings said: "They might have nicer fields than we do, better gloves than we do, better bats than we do, but that doesn't necessarily make them the better team. ... It's not really about what you have, it's about how you use it."
By some measures, city kids from Philly could be seen as underdogs. But through this game, these kids know better.
Editor's note: Davis was the losing pitcher as Philadelphia was defeated by Las Vegas 8-1 on Wednesday night, The Associated Press reports. Philadelphia will now face Chicago, another hot topic at the Little League World Series, on Thursday night to determine who will play Las Vegas in the U.S. title game on Saturday. Davis gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in 2-and-a-third innings, but got strikeouts for 6 of the 7 outs she recorded. She threw 55 pitches, meaning she is eligible to pitch Saturday, but not Thursday, under Little League pitch count rules.