Columbia survived a late comeback by cross-county rival Waterloo in the Class 3A softball regional final played Saturday on their home field, taking the title 3-2.

In a well-played game, the Eagles scored three runs in the second inning and Waterloo battled back with two runs in the sixth before Columbia pitcher Brianna Weilbacher set the Bulldogs down in order in the seventh for the win.

“I had a feeling it would be a tight game, being Waterloo-Columbia,” Eagles head coach Rhonda Major said. “We knew Waterloo was going to fight to the end. But we kept it together and held on.”

This wasn’t the first one-run game this season between the two teams. On March 31, Columbia escaped with a 2-1 win at WHS.

In the second inning, Caitlyn Touchette reached on a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Kelly Metter. Courtney Weilbacher walked, Kaylee Bastien singled and Kalli Farmer followed with a hit, and the Eagles were up 3-0.

The score remained that way until the sixth, when the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game. Kaitlyn Storm hit a double, followed by a Kasey Bradley single. Taylor Yearian singled, scoring Storm. Madison Kruse hit a grounder that was misplayed and the runner on second scored, making it 3-2. The tying run attempted to score on an errant throw but was thrown out at the plate.

Columbia’s defense shined when it counted. Metter made an amazing catch in the outfield to preserve the slim lead.

“We definitely had some big defensive plays,” Major said.

Although the Eagles left runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, Brianna Weilbacher stayed strong in the end.

“Brianna showed some toughness in the seventh and took care of business,” Major said.

The Eagles (32-2) will play

Highland on Wednesday in the Class 3A Centralia Sectional.

Columbia advanced to the regional final by blasting Althoff at home last Wednesday, 16-1.

Caitlyn Touchette was a one-woman wrecking crew. She went 3-for-3 with three home runs with eight RBIs in the win.

Previously, Touchette smacked two home runs against Althoff on May 9.

Taryn Pena, Brianna Weilbacher and Metter added two hits apiece against Althoff.

Waterloo (22-11) advanced to the regional final with a 6-2 win Thursday against Mascoutah.

The Bulldogs scored four runs in the first inning, and pitcher Bradley made the lead hold up from there.

Bradley also contributed two hits in the victory, as did Storm and Taylor Augustine.