Kinley Rasmus Lifts Phenix City to 6-5 LLWS Win, Tying Girl Strikeout Record

Q: With 14 strikeouts already tying Mo'ne Davis, can this 12-year-old prodigy shatter the all-time LLWS record in her next start?

Not in her next start immediately — but she has a real chance if Phenix City stays alive long enough for her to pitch again. Rasmus has 14 strikeouts in the 2026 Little League World Series, tying Mo’ne Davis for the most by a girl in tournament history. She reached that total by striking out eight in one outing and six more in Monday’s 6-5 win over Pennsylvania. The key obstacle is not performance but availability. Rasmus threw 54 pitches Monday, and Little League pitch-count rules require three calendar days of rest. That means she is unavailable for Tuesday’s game against Soundview Little League of Tacoma, Washington, and cannot break the mark in that game. If Phenix City advances through the elimination bracket, she could return later in the week. At that point, she would need only one strikeout to move past Davis’ girls’ record. If the question is whether she can threaten the overall LLWS strikeout record, that is a much steeper climb and would depend on multiple factors: how deep Alabama advances, whether she gets another full outing, and how many pitches she is allowed to throw. Based on what she has shown so far — six strikeouts in relief Monday, eight in a previous scoreless outing, and strong two-way play — she is pitching well enough to add to her total. But the schedule and rest rules, not her talent, are the biggest barriers.

3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 25

Phenix City advanced to game two of the U.S. division after Kinley Rasmus, 12, pitched a 6-5 win over Pennsylvania's East Side Little League in Williamsport.
Rasmus allowed just 2 hits and struck out 6, tying Mo’ne Davis for the most strikeouts by a girl in Little League World Series history.
Fans chanted “fear the bow” as the Alabama two-way player — the 25th girl to appear in the LLWS — starred on both sides of the ball.
Phenix City next faces Northwest Region representative Soundview Little League of Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday as the 2026 tournament field narrows.