Warrior on the Mound: Chapters 20–33

by Sandra W. Headon
In Jim-Crow era North Carolina, 12-year-old Cato is an aspiring pitcher whose dream of playing professional baseball collides with racial tensions and conflict after he and his team practice on a whites-only field.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–19, Chapters 20–33
15 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hunker
    squat, hunch, or crouch down
    “I want you to hunker down and wait.”
  2. kerosene
    a flammable hydrocarbon oil used as fuel
    A rock crashes through another window. Now there’s glass all over the front of the church.
    “Kerosene in a jar and a match. I bet that’s what’s coming in next,” whispers Mason.
  3. smoldering
    showing scarcely suppressed anger
    Hearing it all nearly sets Rev’s hair on fire—his eyes are smoldering.
  4. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    Papa Vee gazes at me. Like always, he seems calm and determined, not worried at all.
  5. fitful
    intermittently stopping and starting
    After eating and taking a big swig of water from the Mason jar, I lay down, close my eyes, and drift off into another fitful sleep.
  6. eerie
    suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
    The single lantern casts an eerie glow on us.
  7. beeline
    the most direct route
    “Man!” says Trace, his eyes beaming. “I wish I had a beeline to a professional baseball team too.”
  8. modest
    humble in spirit or manner
    “Well, he might be great, but Satchel is never modest,” he says, laughing.
  9. wallow
    roll around
    Trace and Digger are at the back of the truck, wallowing on the ground.
  10. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Freight Train guns the engine one last time and drives off, veering from side to side.
  11. kinfolk
    a person's relatives, collectively
    “They’re acting just like their kinfolk; Digger’s great-grandpa in South Carolina and Freight Train’s great-uncle in Wilmington, they were both part of the Red Shirts, long ago.“
  12. nary
    colloquial for 'not a' or 'not one' or 'never a'
    Then, with nary a nod or a goodbye, Sheriff Pridgeon turns and walks to his pickup truck, grabs the apple pie off the hood, and gets in.
  13. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    “Did he ever like Mr. Luke, before Daddy Mo died?”
    “No. Loathed the ground he walked on.”
  14. heirloom
    something that has been in a family for generations
    “I can hear Miss Holmes telling you what this is. A family heirloom, just like this locket I wear around my neck.”
  15. contraption
    a small mechanical device or tool
    “You’ll be riding to Kansas City with Luke in this contraption,” says Papa Vee.
Created on Mon Jul 13 18:01:23 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Aug 07 15:36:09 EDT 2026)

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