North Carolina, Kentucky Advance to Little League Softball World Series Semifinals

The semifinals of the Little League Softball World Series take place on Friday, with a trip to the championship games on the line.

Here’s a look at who remains, what’s at stake, and what teams need to pull out all the stops to continue their season.

Teams Remaining

North Carolina (Johnston County LL)
Northwest (Snohomish LL)
Southeast (Lake Mary LL)
Central (Daviess County LL)
Latin America (Guayama Softball LL)
Mid-Atlantic (Toms River LL)

Semifinal and Championship Schedule

Friday, August 7

Southwest Region vs. Northwest Region, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Latin America Region vs. Mid-Atlantic Region, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

Saturday, August 8 (Semifinals)

Central Region vs. TBA, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
North Carolina Region vs. TBA, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

Sunday, August 9

TBA vs. TBA (Third Place Matchup), 10 a.m. ET, ESPN
TBA vs. TBA (Championship Matchup), 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

Teams to Watch

North Carolina Region

The Johnston County softball team has been an incredible representative of the state of North Carolina, as they remain undefeated after taking down the Southeast Region 5-2. Ace Anna-Lynn Clark threw a complete game with 13 strikeouts and five hits, while the offense came alive with all five runs in the fifth inning.

StacKKKKKKKKKKKKKing up the strike outs on their way to the Championship.#LLWS x @ihop pic.twitter.com/Mi1UNIFAY8
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 6, 2026

Lake Mary of the Southeast Region had been on a tear, outscoring opponents 29-0 in their previous two games, but nothing was getting past Clark and Johnston County’s defense.

Central Region

Ace Michaela Knight threw a shutout with nine strikeouts to lead Daviess County of Kentucky to a 2-0 win over Latin America.

Paisley Edge and Finley Beaven were the heroes at the plate, as they both ripped back-to-back RBI doubles to take the lead. Daviess County has taken down its opponents 26-2.

Kentucky Carries On 🐎 pic.twitter.com/q1u81XpL7M
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 6, 2026

Northwest Region

With Madison Locke on the mound and at the plate, Snohomish is to be feared. In her most recent outing, she went 2-for-3 at the plate with 12 strikeouts to take a 9-1 victory over Canada and escape elimination.

The 12-year-old is the daughter of former Washington softball Women’s College World Series champion, Olympic medalist and current ESPN Analyst, Danielle Lawrie, and has certainly made a name for herself.

Janessa Malone also powered the offense, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run.

Locke-d and loaded 💪#LLWS x @CapitalOne pic.twitter.com/W8qKaE3jPZ
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 4, 2026

ESPN has been exclusively broadcasting 81 Little League Softball Region Tournament games this summer, with 65 games available on ESPN+, 12 on ESPN and two on ESPN2.

The tournament is being played on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.

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