Two of the best. At their best. Preston’s Kelcie Bormann and Bellevue’s Caley Medinger matched zeroes for eight innings. The sophomore pitchers had a radar-lock on the strike zone, wiggled out of jams and challenged hitters with popping heaters that echoed into the overcast sky. The way these gunslingers dueled, only a wacky play would beat one of them. Then Bellevue outfielder Alyx Michels provided it.

In the top of the ninth, Michels ripped a triple to right and scampered home on a throwing error to give Bellevue a thrilling 1-0 win in each team’s conference finale at Preston Community School.

“I heard (Bellevue coach Tim Roth) yelling and waving his arms, so I kept running,” Michels said. “It felt pretty good to score that run.”

Bellevue (17-10, 8-2 Big East) finished tied for second in the league standings. Class 1A No. 15-ranked Preston (12-7, 6-4) placed fourth.

Michels tomahawked Bormann’s high-and-away fastball down the right-field line. Trojans outfielder Nicole Trenkamp charged and tried to scoop it off her shoe tops, but the ball snuck under her glove and rolled to the fence.

“I have no problem with that,” Preston coach Sarah Manning said. “It was aggressive. It would have been a great play.”

Bormann thought Trenkamp would make the catch for the inning’s second out.

“It took a bad hop on her,” Bormann said. “Then it rolled pretty far away from her. Then came the bad throw.”

Michels slid safely into third base. But Preston’s relay throw soared over leaping third baseman Alicia Lane and down the left-field line, allowing Michels to score the game-winner.

“It was a lucky play,” Roth said. “Their right fielder tried to make a great play, and it was a risky play. We caught a big break.”

Preston stranded the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth innings. The Trojans marooned nine runners in the game and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

“We haven’t seen their true potential yet,” Manning said of her team. “They come out ranked second in the state to start the season, and we have not reached our true potential at all. We had the bases loaded twice, and that’s when you need to produce. Earn it.”

Until Michels’ extra-inning heroics, the hurlers stole the show.

Bormann, fresh off her perfect game on Monday, allowed a leadoff single to Medinger, but then retired her next nine hitters. She struck out five straight at one point and finished with 16 punchouts.

The right-hander allowed six hits and walked one.

“Her riseball was good,” Roth said. “Her fastball looked sharp; we couldn’t catch up to it. She was ahead in the count all night, and when that happens, she’s in control.”

Medinger retired 13 consecutive batters from the second to sixth. Pitching her third conference game this week, 76 of her 101 tosses went for strikes, and she walked one intentionally.

“I had a good defense behind me today,” Medinger said. “I didn’t have that many strikeouts, so it was big to have the defense playing well.”

In the eighth, Medinger faced runners at second and third with one out with Bormann strolling to the plate. Roth held a conference with his infielders in the pitcher’s circle. He told Medinger to intentionally walk Bormann to create a force at any base.

“She’s one of, if not the best hitter in the conference,” Roth said. “It was a no-brainer. We weren’t going to let their best player beat us.”

Bormann shook her head as she trotted to first.

“That’s happened to me a couple times this year,” she said. “I just wish they would pitch to me, but they don’t.”

Medinger coaxed a foul pop-up and an inning-ending groundout, escaping he jam and setting the stage for the game’s dramatic conclusion.

“It feels great,” Michels said. “It was a great last conference game for us.”