莫以胜负定输赢：从比赛中有所领悟 才是其意义所在

硬式棒球

(By Mackenzie Brewster)

（麦肯兹`布鲁斯特）

Blood streamed down the cloth of her immaculate jersey and onto the sandy dirt. It flowed from her face like relentless tears. She lay prostrate , vulnerable, painfully helpless. Then the ambulance came and rolled her away. A man raked the circle of blood off the field.

鲜血像止不住的泪水不断地从她的脸上流下来，顺着她那一尘不染的运动衣淌下，滴到地上的沙土中。她趴在地上，脆弱不堪又痛苦万分，显得十分无助。然后，救护车开了过来，载着她驶走了。有个人过来清除了球场上的那圈血迹。

Some people say hardball is not a sport. Some believe girls aren't tough enough. Valley High School varsity player Christy Connor would beg to differ . Her weapon was her bat. Her drive was her need for victory. Her power? Well, that was just her broad shoulders, long legs, and strong body. Christy Connor was an athlete. She was tough enough to take our Pundit High varsity pitcher out for the season.

有些人说棒球不能算是一项运动。有些人认为女孩子身板不够硬，不适合打棒球。山谷中学校棒球队的队员克里丝蒂·康纳不同意这些观点。球棒就是她的武器，对于胜利的渴求则是她的动力。那她的力量从何而来呢？唔，她有宽阔的肩膀、修长的双腿和强健的身 体。克里丝蒂·康纳是一名足够顽强的运动员，她有能力在本赛季让我们蓬特中学校棒球队的投手出局。

Christy stepped inside the lines of the White Rectangle of Doom. She readied her bat and cocked it between her shoulders, with her hands in close proximity to her ears. Our pitcher signaled her pitch to the catcher. The catcher nodded and the pitch was released. Smash. This was the sound of the ball off the bat, making its way to our pitcher's nose. Crack. This was the sound of her nose breaking, flattening across her face. Thud. This was the sound of her body hitting the ground, in the time span of only three seconds. Then only silence was heard. The crowd stood, mouths open and eyes bulged . Hearts fell to the floor and hands covered heads in distress. The Pundit team gathered together and turned away from the mound. Our fallen soldier screamed.

克里丝蒂踏入决定命运的白色矩形赛场中，她握好球棒，弯曲手臂使球棒位于两肩之间，双手紧挨自己的耳朵。我们队的投手向捕手示意准备投球，捕手点了点头，投手的球便投了出去。哐。这是球被对方队员的球棒击中后飞离球棒的声音，它朝着我方投手的鼻子一路飞了过去。啪。这是她鼻梁断了的声音，重击之下她的鼻子塌了下去。砰。这是她倒地的声音，这个过程仅用了三秒。接下来，赛场上一片寂静。观众们都站了起来，张大了嘴，眼睛快瞪出来了。大家的心都沉到了谷底，双手抱着头，显得很痛苦。蓬特中学棒球队的队员聚拢在一起，转过头不看投球区土墩。我们队这位倒下的战士尖叫着。

Go warm up, the coach said to me.

“准备上。”教练对我说。

These three words made an impression on me that I would never forget. I processed them for a minute. "Warm up?" I thought. I was the second pitcher in line, weighing in at only one hundred pounds, equipped with a nose that could be shattered by a landing butterfly. I was the only one there with trembling hands and a mortified mind. The pitcher's blood had just been spewed across the infield . I was the next pitcher. It wasn't exactly a difficult connection to make. My eyes watered, my breath quickened, my heart hammered. I was about to pitch against monsters twice my size in one of the biggest games of the season. These were the same monsters that had just taken down one of us. My mind raced with scenarios of how the remaining eight innings of the game could go. Each scenario revolved around me, dead on the floor.

教练的这三个字给我留下了深刻印象，让我终生难忘。我把那三个字仔细掂量了一分钟。“准备？”我琢磨着。作为替补投手，我体重才100磅(译注：约45.4kg)，还长着一个不堪一击的鼻子，一只蝴蝶落在上面就可能让它粉碎。场上只有我一人双手发抖，大脑乱作一团。我们队的投手刚刚才血溅赛场，而我却是下一位即将上场的投手。替她上场并不是一件特别难想到的事儿，我却两眼噙着泪花，呼吸变得急促起来，心也怦怦直跳。这场比赛是本赛季最大型的比赛之一，我却要在比赛中向两倍于我身材的恶魔们投球，意义所在。那天，我并没有指望自己会有多么精彩的投球表现，我只是想让自己学到一些东西。什么都无法阻挡我前进的脚步，即便它是我不敢面对的大恶魔或是小老鼠。我不能在害怕去尝试那些不可能的事情中度过此生。我不可以害怕冒险，因为总是在这样的尝试之中，我才能取得成功。