Playing with the Boys Kathleen adjusted her helmet before shuffling over to home plate. Waiting for the machine to rev up and start spitting out pitches, she checked her stance: feet apart, knees bent, weight on the back leg, bat gripped loosely.

Be patient, kiddo, she reminded herself as the first baseball whooshed by. Show them you've got sound judgment to go with your killer skills.

Kathleen knew they'd be looking for any little mistake, any small excuse to say “no.” Even though teams were entirely male, nothing in league rules prohibited females from participating. Auditioning athletes only needed to demonstrate that they met established standards. In other words, Kathleen had to prove that a young woman could play as well as the boys.

Not a problem, she thought as she swung at the next pitch. The ball pinged off her bat, soaring like a missile and hitting the chain link fence with a satisfying clink.

After two hours of sending balls slamming against the farthest limits of the batting cage, Kathleen deemed herself ready and headed for the parking lot with a straight back and her head held high.

During warm-ups at the following morning's tryout, she ignored the semi-playful taunts and teasing spewed by her fellow participants about female baseball players. Waiting for her name to be called, Kathleen spent time visualizing a successful at-bat—seeing the pitch, swinging in a perfect arc, watching a home run sail out over center field.

Finally, an organizer announced her turn in the batter's box. When the baseball left the pitcher’s hand, it seemed bigger than a beach ball. Kathleen breathed, watched, waited, and then swung. PING! The ball barreled through the air, over the shortstop’s head, and into deep left field.

“Let's see that again,” an enthusiastic coach called to her, and Kathleen knew she’d made the team.

Read the story

Write a one- to two-paragraph analysis of “Playing with the Boys.” How well does the author elaborate on and support the story’s main idea? Use the information from Part 1 to help you organize your ideas. Use the text evidence you found in the passage to support your analysis.

Remember to:
•Introduce the passage by naming the text and identifying its main idea.
•Identify explicit statements in the text that support the main idea.
•Use textual evidence related to the main idea to state an inference.
•Explain how the author could have provided more or better support for the main idea.