Q: What Can Brown Do For You? A: Pitch A Perfect Game

Mackenzie Brown is 12. She is also a baseball pitcher, and may be the first girl ever to pitch a Little League perfect game. Tomorrow, she’s throwing out the first pitch at Citi Kitty Field.

On Tuesday, Mackenzie achieved something rare among pitchers in the “little” or “big” leagues: she retired 18 batters (all of them boys) while pitching for her local Bayonne, New Jersey, Unico Club team. “There are no official records on how many perfect games are thrown per season. Little League Baseball in Williamsport, Pa., estimates only 50 to 60 gems occur each year,” reports the Newark Star-Ledger. Says Mackenzie:

“In like the fourth inning I kind of knew,” she said. “Then I just tried to keep doing what I was doing and not try to mess it up.”
Her biggest scare came on the second-to-last batter she faced, as he fouled off pitch after pitch (somewhere between five and 12, depending on who you ask). She eventually struck him out, one of 12 she recorded in the game. She finished by striking out the last six.
And while the feat has brought her a lot of attention, she says the coolest part of the week is “probably just being able to throw like that.”

Above left, a clip about the New Jersey native’s accomplishment. More here and here. Oh, and if you have the stomach (or the desire) to continue the Jezebel/Deadspin smackdown? Go here. (By the way, we’ll be having a 2-site commenter meetup with them sometime this summer in NYC.)

Bayonne Girl’s Perfect Game Gains National Recognition [NJ.com]
Girl To Throw Out First Pitch At Citi Field [ESPN]

 
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