Little League World Series scores and bracket: Mo’Ne Davis strikes out 8 in shutout

Japan’s Takuma Takahashi threw a one-hitter and struck out 14 for Japan in a 1-0 win against Venezuela, but he will likely not have the impact that Mid-Atlantic/Taney Dragons’ pitcher Mo’Ne Davis did when she became the first girl at the Little League World Series to throw a shut-out in a 4-0 win against Nashville.

Davis and Canada’s Emma March are two of only 18 girls to play in the tournament, the first two since 2004 and the third pair in the history of the event, according to the Associated Press.

Showered with praise from all over Twitter by the likes of Kevin Durant, Andrew McCutchen and Mike Trout, Davis is pitching for the first-ever team from Philadelphia to qualify for the competition. Part of a major revitalization campaign through programs like RBI, Taney’s ascendance represents a strong sign of progress for baseball’s plans to bring the sport back to urban areas and inner cities.

Along with Takahashi’s and Davis’s dominant pitching performances, third baseman Luis Rodriguez’s two-run HR and pitcher Juan Garza’s nine strikeouts and RBI double were highlights in Mexico’s 4-3 win over Canada. Canada will play Venezuela in a second chance game on Saturday, and Mexico will face Japan on Sunday.

The final game of the day saw Rhode Island weave in and out of trouble through six innings against Texas, before finally losing 6-4. They had a number of mishaps, including a rough play in the outfield with the bases loaded, leading to two runs in the first inning. Loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning -- following a three-run burst from Texas in the top half of the inning that made the game 6-1 -- the New Englanders tried valiantly to catch up but couldn’t quite make it.