HELENA, Mont. – The No. 12-ranked Corban University softball team dropped a heartbreaker in Saturday's opener, falling 2-1 on a walk-off home run to Carroll College, but the Warriors bounced back and won the final game of the four-game series, 3-2. The results mean that Corban finishes the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular season in a tie for second overall in the standings and will enter the 2018 CCC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The CCC Tournament (May 4-6) will be hosted by the CCC regular-season champion, Southern Oregon University. Via winning the CCC regular season, the SOU Raiders have earned the CCC's first automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament. The CCC"s second automatic berth goes to the winner of the CCC Tournament. If SOU wins the CCC Tournament, then whichever team finishes as the runner-up in the tournament will receive the CCC's second automatic bid to nationals.

Game one on Saturday saw Alyssa Doty hit a sacrifice fly to score Megan Rybar in the second inning, giving the Warriors the lead. That lead held all the way until the seventh, when with two outs, two strikes, and one runner on, Tianna Sell hit a walk-off two-run home run for Carroll.

"I am proud of the fight and resiliency our team showed today," said Corban head coach Abigail Farler. "Dropping the first game the way we did was a heartbreaker. I thought we saw solid performances today from Sabrina, V, Rachel, and Kaylee. Defensively, Megan had a huge play for us in left and Sam did a great job behind the plate."

Sabrina Boyd went the distance for Corban, allowing five hits and striking out six in the defeat. At the plate, Tatum Prechtel led Corban with two hits, as the team totaled just five.

Game two saw Carroll jump in front in the first inning with a pair of runs, but Corban responded with two runs in the second to tie things up.

Things remained tied until the sixth inning when Kaylee Buhrkuhl blasted a home run over the fence, putting Corban in front by a run. Coming on to close the door in the seventh to record the final out was Kaylee Graney Patterson, as she recorded a strikeout to end the contest and earn the save.

In the win, Buhrkuhl went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Mahina Chong went 2-for-4 for the Navy and Gold. In the circle, Rachel White earned the win, tossing two scoreless innings, while Alyssa Vidal went 4.1 innings for Corban of shutout ball.

"In game two, our hitters were disciplined when they needed to be and Buhrkuhl had a very timely home run to give us the lead," said Farler. "I think this team knows what they are capable of and will keep working until they get the result the want."

Corban (34-11, 21-6) heads south to Ashland for the CCC Tournament (May 4-6). The Warriors will play in the final game of day one on Friday, taking on the winner of Oregon Tech and Carroll College at 4:30 p.m.