Meet Kinley Rasmus, the 12-year-old who just surpassed Mo’ne Davis’ LLWS record for the most hits by a girl
At just 12, she's bested the hitting record and has tied the strikeout record at 14. She can improve on both on Wednesday night in another elimination game in Williamsport, Pa.
With a recognizable white bow at the back of her baseball cap, Kinley Rasmus continues to make history at the Little League World Series.
Kinley, 12, broke Philly native Mo’Ne Davis’ record for most hits by a girl after hitting five on Tuesday that lifted her team, hailing from Phenix City, Ala., to their second consecutive victory in an elimination game against the Northwest team from Tacoma, Wash.
» READ MORE: Loss aside, West Chester’s East Side Little League soaking up the Little League World Series experience
Kinley hit numbers four and five during their game and was met with cheers and high-fives from the crowd in Williamsport, Pa., and prompted Little League’s social media team to post: “Bow Secured. Take a Bow”
Phenix rallied from a five-run deficit with help from Kinley, who also threw four scoreless innings as pitcher.
The young pitcher and shortstop has baseball in her blood. Her father is former MLB pitcher Cory Rasmus, and she’s the niece of former MLB outfielder Colby Rasmus. Her father is helping coach Phenix City this summer, a legacy team that the Rasmus brothers both played for in the Little League World Series in 1999.
Kinley is one of only two girls playing in the LLWS this year and has been nothing short of unstoppable. She joins the small number of 25 total girls who have ever played in the LLWS, including Philadelphia’s own Davis, who is currently a star player for the Los Angeles Queens of the Women’s Pro Baseball League, which is in its inaugural season.
Davis established her name when she played in the LLWS in 2014 and broke the record for most strikeouts recorded by a girl — 14 — a number that Kinley tied on Monday night after a defeat of the Mid-Atlantic team, represented by West Chester’s East Side team.
Kinley will have the chance to not only break Davis’ strikeout record but her own hitting record in another elimination game, against the Great Lakes on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ESPN).