North Carolina wins 2026 Little League Softball World Series

North Carolina claimed the 2026 Little League Softball World Series title on Sunday, defeating Kentucky in a high-stakes 2-0 championship game from Stallings Stadium in Greenville, N.C.

The team representing Johnston County Little League (Clayton, N.C.) did so relying on the strategy that got them to the finals -- sending right-hander Anna-Lynn Clark out and letting her work.

Less than 24 hours removed from her 109-pitch, 11-K shutout against Florida on Saturday, Clark threw 93 pitches in yet another shutout (3 H, 6 K's) to wrap up her phenomenal tournament.

Despite the stellar matchup between Clark and Kentucky's Michaela Knight, who entered the day leading the tournament with a 0.32 ERA (min. 7 IP), for both clubs, it was the defense that really ruled the day. Clark's key support came from right fielder Abbey Robinson, who made a pair of fantastic inning-ending catches to cut off brewing rallies in the first and the fourth, and first baseman Scarlett Cerda, who snagged a liner to turn an unassisted double play in that eventful fourth.

On the other side, Kentucky's outfield also stunned all afternoon long in the loss, most notably with an outfield assist from right fielder Finley Beaven to cut down a runner at home and snuff out a North Carolina rally in the bottom of the second. Later, Beaven and center fielder Jenna Ball would make back-to-back diving catches in the bottom of the fourth.

With offense especially hard to come by, the sole RBI on the afternoon belonged to Belle Cox, who for the second straight game opened the scoring with a single in the bottom of the second. North Carolina's second run of the game scored an inning later via error.

Knight allowed two unearned runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a five-inning complete game effort, dropping her tournament ERA to 0.25. Knight also ends the tournament with the second-most strikeouts (26), second only to Clark's 41.

Johnston County Little League brings home North Carolina's fourth Little League Softball World Series championship. The state trails only Texas (14), Florida (8) and California (5) since the tournament's first edition in 1974.

Earlier in the day, Florida clinched a third-place finish in this year's tournament, defeating New Jersey in the consolation game by a score of 5-4.