12-year-old girl Kinley Rasmus makes history at Little League World Series

The GIST: Team Canada was eliminated from the Little League World Series (LLWS) after a valiant Wednesday effort against Japan, but there’s still plenty to celebrate before the tourney comes to a close with Sunday’s championship game.

• Today, we’re looking back at Southeast star Kinley Rasmus’ incredible run and what lies ahead for the history-making 12 year old. Nothing better than throwing like a girl.

👑 Rasmus ties LLWS strikeout record, breaks hits mark by a girl: Move over, Shohei Ohtani. Before Rasmus’ Alabama squad was eliminated on Wednesday, the two-way star notched five hits and 14 strikeouts, giving her the most hits by a girl in a single tourney and matching none other than WPBL star Mo’ne Davis for most Ks by a girl.

• Just the 25th girl to play in the LLWS, Rasmus has quite the sports pedigree: Her uncle is former Toronto Blue Jay Colby Rasmus, her dad and assistant coach, Cory, also played in the majors, and her mom, Jill, played college softball at Southern Miss. All in the family.

👀 What’s next: Rasmus’ LLWS journey might be done, but her sports career is just getting started. She’s expected to be a top NCAA softball prospect in the class of 2032 and she’ll be a starter for her top-ranked high school flag football team this season as a seventh grader. As her head coach for both sports said, “...there’s nothing she can’t do.”

• That’s part of the beauty of Rasmus’ LLWS legacy: She left an indelible mark on the tourney and now, thanks to the growth of girls’ and women’s sports, she has a plethora of opportunities ahead. What a gift, bow included.