JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At 12 years old, Naomi Winburn has already made school history.
“She had one of the best games Harvest has ever had,” Harvest Community softball head coach Drayden Howell said.
She’s only a sixth grader and has only been on the Harvest softball team for a few months, but already Winburn’s thrown two solo no-hitters - the only two in school history.
“I had no idea,” Winburn said. “I just put in work and then it’ll come.”
The historic games were back-to-back. The first was Tuesday in a 20-0 win over Parsons. Then, only two days later, she threw another no-hitter in a 15-0 win over Cedar Creek.
“Surreal having a young lady come out here at 12 years old amongst seniors, juniors, sophomores,” Howell said.
In her record-setting first game in the circle, Winburn had eight strikeouts against 11 batters. As the game went on, she knew she was getting closer to history.
“When I pitch I sometimes do think about my stats,” Winburn said. “It does kind of overwhelm my head, but I really just try to keep calm and just play for the lord and do as best as I could.”
She hasn’t been pitching for too long, only three years. Already she throws four different pitches.
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“It’s a blessing because you don’t come upon talent like that,” Howell said.
Winburn isn’t just a star on the mound. She also has one of the highest batting averages on the team.
“She’s going to be one of the biggest names in softball in the city in like five years, maybe sooner than that,” Howell said. “She’s going to be something people are going to be talking about.”
Winburn has only just begun her varsity high school career, but her dream is to play softball for Florida State University. There she can continue striking out batters and throwing no-hitters.