CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (theACC.com) - No. 2 Duke walked it off against No. 10 North Carolina, 16-8, in the most high-scoring game thus far of the 2026 Allstate ACC Softball Championship on Thursday, May 7, at Palmer Park in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Blue Devils will face off against the winner of No. 3 Virginia Tech versus No. 6 Virginia in the championship semifinals on Friday, May 8, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
North Carolina struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning as Michele Tarpey singled to right field for an RBI, before Raegan Jennings added an RBI single to put UNC up 2-0. Duke answered immediately with a four-run second inning to take the lead at 4-2.
The Tar Heels came back with a run in the top of the third inning after another Tarpey single, before scoring five more runs in the top of the fourth highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Emily LeGette and Shelby Barbee to take an 8-4 lead. The Blue Devils quickly responded in the bottom of the fourth, pushing across six runs of their own powered by four RBI base hits, including a two-run triple by Tyrina Jones to retake the lead, 10-8.
Duke went on to score six more runs in the bottom of the sixth on six more base hits to take down North Carolina in run-rule fashion, 16-8, in six 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 16, #10 North Carolina 8 (6 innings)
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: #2 Duke 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