FLC 4, CMU 3 (8 innings)

GOLDEN, Colo. — Erica Conley scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to lead No. 3 Fort Lewis (29-23) to a 4-3 win over Colorado Mesa (26-21) in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference softball playoffs today at the Colorado School of Mines Softball Field.

The Skyhawks are now a perfect 3-0 in RMAC playoff games and advance to tomorrow's championship game, where they'll play the winner of the Colorado Mesa/Colorado Christian game.

“I am so pleased with the heart of this team, especially during these hard-fought games,” said second-year FLC head coach Kira Zeiter. “We always keep pushing, and in this game, we kept getting runners on and found a way to get it done … but the job isn't done yet, and we will have a good battle again tomorrow.”

Conley led off the eighth with a seeing-eye single up the middle, advanced to second on Destinee DeHerrera's single to left, and moved to third on Cierra Walters' fielder's choice. Colorado Mesa intentionally walked Chelsea Rodriguez to load the bases, bringing up cleanup hitter Stephanie Janes.

Janes faced one pitch from CMU reliever Courtney Maihi — one in the dirt that eluded catcher Megan Smith. Smith scurried to grab the ball and toss it to Maihi for a play at the plate, but Conley's slide safely beat the tag.

The game shouldn't have gone into extra innings. The CSM Softball Field is the deepest in the RMAC at 220 feet to center and the corners with a 10-foot fence. In short, it's the toughest park in the conference to hit homers out of. The host Orediggers belted 51 bombs this year, but just nine on their field.

In today's game, Fort Lewis batters hit the fence four times — doubles by DeHerrera, Walters, and Kaylynn Harmon and a single by Hayley Bolyard.

Two balls did clear the fence, though. Rodriguez staked FLC to a 2-1 lead in the first with a line drive laser to left. CMU's Maihi launched a bomb to straightaway center that cleared the scoreboard that sits more than 20 feet above the field and tied the score at 3-3 in the sixth.

Alexis Villegas (7-8) worked all eight innings, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out a pair of Mavs.

Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI to lead the Skyhawk attack, which ground out nine hits but found other ways to get on base. Colorado Mesa pitchers plunked a trio of Skyhawks, walked three, and issued one intentional pass. DeHerrera was the only other FLC player with multiple hits, going 2-for-5.

Maihi (13-11) went the final 5.1 innings in relief and took the loss, allowing just two runs on six hits. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI.

The Skyhawks set a school record with their 29th win of the season. The 2008 Skyhawks went 28-26-1 overall (.538), winning the RMAC tournament and advancing to the NCAA playoffs for the only time in school history.

One win tomorrow and the Skyhawks will match those feats, winning their second-ever RMAC postseason crown and earning the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Should the Skyhawks lose in the 1:30 p.m. championship game, they would play again immediately following the first game because the RMAC tourney is a double-elimination affair.

Saturday's games be streamed on America One ($9 per game). Live stats are also available.