The information given describes velocity rather than just speed.
Velocity is a vector quantity, which means it includes both the speed of the object and its direction. In your example, the softball is thrown at a speed of 72 m/s to the left, indicating both how fast it is moving (the speed) and the direction in which it is moving (to the left). Speed, on the other hand, is a scalar quantity that only considers how fast an object is moving, without regard to direction.