Rowan stayed in contention to advance from pool play with a resounding 12-0 win against Philippines on Sunday in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore.
Kali Morton pitched a one-hitter and walked only one batter as Rowan (14-1 overall) boosted its record to 2-1 in World Series pool play.
Morton struck out eight in a game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule, as Rowan bounced back from Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Iowa.
“We had a better fielding game,” Rowan coach Steve Yang said in a phone interview. “The first two games here we hadn’t played the kind of defense we usually play. We challenged the girls to eliminate the defensive mistakes and we didn’t have any errors.”
Rowan also got the bats going and blew the game open with a five-run second inning.
Ellen Yang, Kary Hales and Caitlin Mann had three hits each and knocked in three runs apiece. One of Rowan’s 12 hits was a line-drive triple to right field by Mann.
Allison Ennis had a hit and scored two runs. Morton had two hits. Ellie Wilhelm and Kaylin Dowling scored two runs each. Liza Simmerson scored a run, while Taylor Walton drove in a run.
“The Philippines pitcher threw hard, but they made an error at shortstop with two outs in the second inning and then we capitalized with some key hits,” Coach Yang said. “We had a much better hitting game today. The girls got their timing back and we put a lot more balls on the grass.”
Philippines, the Asia-Pacific champion, fell to 1-3 in the tournament.
Rowan plays its final pool game today against Washington at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Washington and Iowa were both 2-0 heading into a showdown late Sunday night.
There are several scenarios possible for today.
Southeast Regional champ Rowan has to beat West Regional champ South Snohomish, Wash., to have a chance to advance out of pool play to Tuesday’s televised semifinals (ESPN2).
If Rowan, Iowa and Washington wind up in a three-way tie with 3-1 records, a run-differential tiebreaker will be employed to determine the two advancing teams.
“The tough part is that three of the best teams here are in the same five-team pool and only two of those three will go on,” Coach Yang said. “But you play the cards you’re dealt. These girls are bulldogs, they’re resilient, and they’ll keep playing as hard as they can.”

Rowan 150 24 — 12 12 0
Philippines 000 00 — 0 1 5