MUNCIE, Ind. — "Hey, number one, you did amazing," a girl yelled as she leaned over the fence separating Muncie Central's baseball field and the parking lot.
Among the Muncie Burris baseball players running sprints postgame, Josie Stevenson, who donned the No. 1 blue jersey for the Owls, looked back. The unsolicited comment from a complete stranger brought a quick smile to Stevenson's face before she turned around, lined up and continued running alongside her teammates.
This is Stevenson's first year playing varsity baseball. It's her first year playing baseball — ever — after her debut was delayed last season due to COVID-19 canceling spring sports throughout Indiana and the rest of the country.