In 1974, the Little League® Federal Charter was amended; allowing girls to play Little League Baseball® and the Little League Softball® program was created. Since then, millions of Girls with Game from around the world have gotten their start on Little League diamond.
Of those millions, there are 20 that have played in the Little League Baseball World Series. Ella Bruning, the starting catcher for the 2021 Southwest Region Runner-up from Wylie Little League (Abilene, Texas), being the most recent addition to the list.
At the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series, Mo’ne Davis made headlines around the world with her performance on the mound for the Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League from Philadelphia. For the entire series, she threw 14 strikeouts and only allowed three earned runs in 8 1/3 innings pitched. Mo’ne wasn’t the only girl playing that year, as Emma March also had a solid World Series performance for the South Vancouver Little League team from British Columbia in 2014.
The first girl to play in Williamsport was Victoria Roche who played for Brussels, Belgium in 1984. And one of the most notable girls to play in the Little League Baseball World Series was Krissy (Wendell) Pohl, who played for Brooklyn Center, Minn., in 1994. Mrs. Pohl went on to be the captain of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Olympic team, winning a silver and bronze medal. She was enshrined in the Little League Hall of Excellence in 2004. In 2014, Eliska Stejskalova made Little League history becoming the first girl to compete in two baseball World Series, when she played in the Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series in Livermore, Calif., after playing in Williamsport in 2013.
In addition to Ms. Davis and Ms. March, two girls have played in the same World Series three times, also happening in 2004 and 2009. And, when Emma March and Mo’ne Davis pitched in 2014 World Series they became the fourth and fifth female pitchers in World Series history.
Here are the 20 girls who have competed in the Little League Baseball World Series:
- 1984: Victoria Roche – Brussels Little League, Brussels, Belgium (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 1989: Victoria Brucker – Eastview Little League, San Pedro, Calif. (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 1990: Kelly Craig – Trail Little League, Trail, British Columbia, Canada (World Series Record: 1-1)
- 1991: Giselle Hardy – Arabian American Little League, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (World Series Record: 0-3)
- 1994: Krissy Wendell – Brooklyn Center (Minn.) American League (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 1998: Sayaka Tsushima – Kashima Little League, Osaka, Japan (World Series Record: 3-2, Runners-Up)
- 1999: Alicia Hunolt – Ramstein Little League, Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany (World Series Record: 0-3)
- 2001: Tatiana Maltseva – Khovrino Little League, Moscow, Russia (World Series Record: 0-3)
- 2002: Sanoe Aina – Waipio Little League, Waipahu, Hawaii (World Series Record: 2-1)
- 2003: Merced Flores – Central Little League, Agana, Guam (World Series Record: 0-3)
- 2004: Meghan Sims – Owensboro (Ky.) Southern Little League (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2004: Alexandra Bellini – East Nepean Little League, Ottawa, Canada (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2008: Brielle Meno – Southern Guam Little League, Yona, Guam (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2009: Katie Reyes – Hastings Community Little League, Vancouver, British Columbia (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2009: Bryn Stonehouse – Arabian American Little League, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2013: Eliska Stejsklova – South Moravia Little League, Czech Republic (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2014: Emma March – South Vancouver Little League, Vancouver, British Columbia (World Series Record: 0-3)
- 2014: Mo’ne Davis – Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League, Philadelphia, Pa. (World Series Record: 2-2)
- 2019: Maddy Freking – Coon Rapids Andover Little League, Coon Rapids, Minn. (World Series Record: 1-2)
- 2021: Ella Bruning – Wylie Little League, Abilene, Texas (World Series Record: TBD)