CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (theACC.com) - No. 4 seed Stanford clinched a spot in the 2026 Allstate ACC Softball Championship semifinals on Thursday, May 7, after defeating No. 5 seed Louisville in eight innings, 6-5.

The Cardinal will take on the top-seed Florida State on Friday, May 8, at 1 p.m. ET for a chance to play in the championship game. That semifinal game will air live on ACC Network.

Louisville’s Bri Despines kicked off the game with two-run home run to put the Cardinals up 2-0. Stanford answered immediately in the bottom half by crossing four runs in the bottom half, taking advantage of a run-scoring double from Taryn Kern and a pair of RBI singles from Ava Gall and Joie Economides.

Despines came back in the top of the third with her second home run of the game and 11th of the season, followed by a solo home run off the bat of Madison Pickens to tie the game at 4-4.

Stanford regained the lead from a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the third, and no one scored again until Louisville took advantage of its own bases-loaded walk, eventually forcing extra innings.

Stanford won in extra innings from a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field from River Mahler, scoring Sopiha Jin to win the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Zoe Prystajko earned her 20th win of the season, striking out six batters in 5.1 innings.

Tickets are on sale for the 2026 Allstate ACC Softball Championship and are available by visiting: https://virginiasports.evenue.net/events/acc-softball.

2026 Allstate ACC Softball Championship Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Wednesday, May 6
Game 1: #9 Georgia Tech 13, #8 Notre Dame 3 (5 innings)
Game 2: #5 Louisville 6, #12 NC State 5
Game 3: #10 North Carolina 4, #7 Clemson 2
Game 4: #6 Virginia 2, vs. #11 Pitt 1

Thursday, May 7
Game 5: #1 Florida State 2, #9 Georgia Tech 1
Game 6: #4 Stanford 6, #5 Louisville 5 (8 innings)
Game 7: #2 Duke vs. #10 North Carolina | 5 p.m. | ACCN
Game 8: #3 Virginia Tech vs. #6 Virginia | 7:30 p.m. | ACCN

Friday, May 8
Game 9: #1 Florida State vs. #4 Stanford | 1 p.m. | ACCN
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner | 3:30 p.m. | ACCN

Saturday, May 9
Championship: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN