No secret: Mo'ne Davis will be pitching for Taney

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Taney manager Alex Rice - as well as almost every other manager at the Little League World Series - has made a habit of not announcing who his starting pitcher will be until he hands in the lineup card a few hours before a game.

Rice has left his hints, if one listens closely or watches how the team practices. But he never fully confirms his decision.

The manager continued his tradition on Sunday night after the Dragons rallied past Pearland, Texas, 7-6, in the second round at Lamade Stadium. Taney will play Mountain Ridge Little League of Las Vegas on Wednesday night in the U.S. semifinal. The Philadelphia team's ace, Mo'ne Davis, who pitched a shutout Friday, will almost certainly pitch in the semifinal.

Just don't ask Rice.

"I cannot confirm," he said with a smile. "But it is highly likely that Ms. Davis will pitch at some point in that game on Wednesday."

Zion Spearman, who scored the winning run Sunday night, leaned into his microphone.

"Psst, psst, psst," he said.

Sunday's win allows Taney's best pitcher a chance to send the Dragons into the tournament's championship weekend. If the Dragons had lost Sunday, Davis would have been used just to keep Taney alive in the double-elimination format.

"There's nobody else I would rather go up against them with," Rice said. "We've played East Coast tournaments with travel teams from California that have come here. And Mo'ne has pitched against them and we've done well. We've won. We're not intimidated."

Davis has been the tournament's star attraction since the team arrived in Williamsport last Monday. Rice said the pressure has not affected her at all.

"She's amazing," he said. "All of these kids are amazing. I can't fathom going out in front of however many people we had tonight, even though they were pro Mid-Atlantic. She's unflappable."

After Friday's eight-strikeout performance, Davis said she wished her teammates would be interviewed more. They were the reason the team reached this far, she said. They proved her right in Sunday's win.

The Dragons used three pitchers, and seven of the team's nine starters registered hits, including Davis, who played third base. The first four hitters in the lineup each scored at least one run.

"It comes from a different place every day," said catcher Scott Bandura, who scored from first base to tie the game in the sixth. "We're a solid team. Anybody can come through at any time."

Tai Shanahan, who plated the winning run with a grounder, said Las Vegas is a "very good team." And it will be a good game, he said, if "Mo'ne is pitching well and we're hitting well."

"That's if she's pitching," the manager whispered.

The players laughed and the secret was out of the bag. Davis will be back on the mound.

@matt_breen