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. Ella became the third girl to have a multi-hit game in the Little League Baseball World Series, and she was the team’s catcher for all five of their games, finishing with two assists, 29 putouts, and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
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. In 1989, Victoria Brucker became the first girl to pitch in the World Series and the first to record a hit. 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, California, 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. Maddy Freking joined them on that list of female pitchers in 2019, which also includes Victoria Brucker (1989), Kelly Craig (1990), and Meghan Sims (2004).
Meet the 20 girls who have competed in the Little League Baseball World Series:
1984: Victoria Roche – Brussels (Belgium) Little League
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-3
1989: Victoria Brucker – Eastview Little League (San Pedro, Calif.)
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-7, 1 hit, 3 runs
1990: Kelly Craig – Trail Little League (British Columbia, Canada)
- World Series Record: 1-1
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-4
1991: Giselle Hardy – Arabian American Little League (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia)
- World Series Record: 0-3
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-4, 1 hit, 1 run
1994: Krissy Wendell – Brooklyn Center (Minn.) American League
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-9, 1 hit, 2 runs
1998: Sayaka Tsushima – Kashima Little League (Osaka, Japan)
- World Series Record: 3-2 (Runners-Up)
- Offensive Statistics: 4-for-14, 4 hits, 3 runs, RBI
1999: Alicia Hunolt – Ramstein Little League (Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany)
- World Series Record: 0-3
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-1
2001: Tatiana Maltseva – Khovrino Little League (Moscow, Russia)
- World Series Record: 0-3
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-2
2002: Sanoe Aina – Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii)
- World Series Record: 2-1
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-4
2003: Merced Flores – Central Little League (Agana, Guam)
- World Series Record: 0-3
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-6
2004: Meghan Sims – Owensboro (Ky.) Southern Little League
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-5, RBI
2004: Alexandra Bellini – East Nepean Little League (Ottawa, Canada)
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-6
2008: Brielle Meno – Southern Guam Little League (Yona, Guam)
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-3, 1 run
2009: Katie Reyes – Hastings Community Little League (Vancouver, British Columbia)
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 3-for-6, 3 RBI
2009: Bryn Stonehouse – Arabian American Little League (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia)
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-3
2013: Eliska Stejsklova – South Moravia (Czech Republic) Little League
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-2
- Also played in 2014 Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series
2014: Emma March – South Vancouver Little League (British Columbia, Canada)
- World Series Record: 0-3
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-4
2014: Mo’ne Davis – Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- World Series Record: 2-2
- Offensive Statistics: 1-for-10, 1 hit, 1 RBI
2019: Maddy Freking – Coon Rapids Andover (Minn.) Little League
- World Series Record: 1-2
- Offensive Statistics: 0-for-2
2021: Ella Bruning – Wylie Little League (Abilene, Texas)
- World Series Record: 3-2
- Offensive Statistics: 2-for-6, 1 run, RBI