“Fear the bow” indeed.
Phenix City Little League star Kinley Rasmus put up another impressive performance on the mound in a dramatic walk-off win for the Southeast Region squad against West Chester Little League.
After coming into the game in the third inning, Rasmus struck out six batters to increase her Little League World Series total to 14, tying Mo’ne Davis for the most strikeouts by a girl in the tournament’s history.
She also recorded a hit in three at-bats and drove in the game-tying run in the bottom half of the third when she singled on a hard grounder to left field to score Easton Allen.
“I’m just so grateful for this opportunity,” Rasmus said. “I couldn’t be here without my teammates and they’ve just been here with me this whole ride. I’m just so grateful to them.”
Rasmus, who is the daughter of former MLBer Cory Rasmus and is the niece of veteran outfielder Colby Rasmus, entered the game with Phenix City trailing 5-0.
She went on to give up just two hits and no runs in 4 ⅔ innings on the mound.
“I just had to lock into the game and know to throw strikes and let my defense work,” she said about coming into the game. “Just throw strikes.”
Rasmus has taken the Little League World Series by storm with her play.
She flashed her defensive skills earlier in her team’s run when she made a leaping catch at shortstop to rob her opponent of a hit. And her eight strikeouts last week against Washington made her the first girl since Davis in 2014 to strike out that many batters in a single game at the tournament.
The Alabama squad will now look to keep its Little League World Series dreams alive on Tuesday when they face Washington again in the elimination bracket.
