Sac State freshman third baseman Lewa Day practices her swing against California Baptist at Shea Stadium on Friday, Feb. 7. In just 14 games, Day has recorded 12 RBIs and two home runs.
February 25, 2020
Lewa Day has been playing softball since the age of 7. She first tried out for soccer and basketball, but both of those trials did not last long.
But in softball, Day found her niche. Her father, who is a former baseball player, supported the idea.
“We’re a big sports family in my house,” Day said. “(We found) a softball sign-up table after my last (soccer) game my dad asked, ‘Do you wanna do that?’ and I said, ‘Sure.’”
According to the 2018 edition of the NCAA Demographics Database, only 5% of collegiate softball players are Black.
Day said that she realized that the demographics in softball don’t really play in her favor.
“When playing softball, you start to notice that it is a white-dominated sport,” Day said. “It’s not something you’re blind to. I definitely gel with everyone on my team, but at the same time you realize there is only one (Black person).”
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Day is a communications major at Sac State and through the course of just 14 games, she has 12 RBIs and two home runs, one of which was a grand-slam.
Despite being the only Black player on the Sac State softball team, Day said she still takes pride in the fact that she can serve as a role model to the next generation of Black athletes.
That notion became even more apparent to Day when a faculty member brought their Black daughter to one of her practices.
“My coach was like, ‘That’s who you’re doing it for,’” Day said. “You’re playing this so that little girls like her can say, ‘I can do that too.”
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