Mo’ne Davis may not have pitched a no-hitter on Wednesday, but the zeitgeisting 13-year-old baseball player catapulted ratings for the Little League World Series.
ESPN's coverage of the semifinals game brought a 3.4 overnight rating. That may not seem that impressive, but its up a whopping 143 percent from the comparable game last summer and marks an all-time high for the junior sport the cable network.
Records extended to her home state, Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia brought in a 14.9 rating.
Perhaps its the Sports Illustrated cover curse, but Davis was pulled from the mound during Pennsylvania's 8-1 loss to Nevada and moved to first base.
The cable network isn't weeping just yet. Philadelphia still has potential to continue in the series if the team wins Thursday's game against Chicago. Davis can't play in that game, on account of pitch-count rules, but a victory means she'll potentially pitch during a Saturday rematch against Las Vegas.
