It wasn't pretty, and there probably aren't many nails left to bite. But New Life Academy is one victory away from a fourth straight Class 1A state championship.
Eagles senior Rebekah Schmidt pitched seven innings of one-hit softball against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, striking out 13 batters in a 3-2 victory.
Down 2-0, the Fighting Saints got their only hit in the fifth inning, a single by Erin Haglund to lead off. From there, groundouts and a passed ball led to two runs for KMS to tie the score.
New Life Academy answered, though, when the Fighting Saints suffered through their own inning of blunders. Chloe Westlund scored the eventual game-winning run on a throwing error.