Kentucky, North Carolina reach Little League Softball World Series title game

The matchup is set. The Little League Softball World Series championship game will feature a showdown between Kentucky and North Carolina after each team punched its ticket to the title game with a semifinal win on Saturday in Greenville, North Carolina.

The championship game will be played at Greenville’s Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.

Kentucky edged New Jersey in the first semifinal contest, 2-1. Evelyn Chelstrom delivered the biggest hit of the game when she lined a go-ahead single to right field with two outs in the fifth inning to score Michaela Knight and give Kentucky a one-run lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Knight was brilliant in the circle, throwing a complete game with seven strikeouts, all the while fielding her position beautifully. In the bottom of the fourth, with the go-ahead run at third for New Jersey in a 1-1 tie, Knight snared a line drive back up the middle to end the threat. And in the sixth, she fielded a bunt attempt smoothly and threw out the first batter of the frame.

In the other semifinal, North Carolina pitcher Anna-Lynn Clark struck out 11 in a 4-0 victory over Florida. Her 35 strikeouts in the tournament pace the field, and the 11-K game was her third performance of at least 11 strikeouts in the Little League Softball World Series.

Clark was backed by more than enough offense. With two outs in the second, Belle Cox delivered an RBI single to right to open the scoring. North Carolina added two more in the third, when Clark opened with a single, stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a safety squeeze play. North Carolina tacked on another run on a Parker Mortensen RBI single in the fourth.

North Carolina will be seeking its fourth Little League Softball World Series title (also winning in 2015, 2019 and 2024). Kentucky is looking to win the tournament for the first time.