SPOKANE — The only two home runs of Thursday’s Northwest Athletic Conference Championships opening round game couldn’t have come at better times for the North Idaho College softball team.

Trailing 9-8 with two outs, Reiss McIntyre delivered the first, a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Then, Aleksya Batoon finished the game with a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, sending the eighth-seeded Cardinals past ninth-seeded Douglas College 12-9 at the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex.

NIC led 6-0 after two innings, keyed by two-run singles in the first and second inning by Megan Dobrev.

Douglas tied the game at 8-8 on an RBI single by Madison MacGillivray.

Later, NIC, which rallied from a 7-0 hole, fell to top-seeded Southwestern Oregon 11-8 to slip into the consolation bracket.

NIC (30-16) faces 10th-seeded Chemeketa (14-25) in a loser-out game today at 10 a.m.

Hattie Imbler-Bremner cut the deficit to 7-3 with a three-run home run for NIC in the fourth inning. Taryn Vanderwiel made it 7-5 and Addison Ribordy scored later in the fifth to tie the game at 7-7. NIC took its first lead of the game after Kiana Bishop scored on an error at 8-7 in the fifth..

Southwestern Oregon took the lead for good on a two-run double by Alapese Matautia at 9-8 and Carissa Andrews closed out the scoring with a two-run triple on the sixth.

NORTH IDAHO 12, DOUGLAS 9, 8 INN.

Douglas 000 041 40 — 9 12 2

North Idaho 420 002 13 — 12 12 3

Two outs when winning run scored.

Riley Woodward and Cat Hedin; Abbey Brooks, Reiss McIntyre (7) and Lexy Orien.

HITS: Doug — MacGillivray 2, Miskiw, Hedin, Woodward, McCrea, Nicholson, Schina 2, Ramadhan, Furlong, Hourihane. NIC — Escalante, Dumas, Vanderwiel 2, Ribordy 2, Dobrev 3, Batoon 2, McIntyre. 2B — Schina, Escalante, Dumas, Batoon. HR — Batoon, McIntyre.

SOUTHWESTERN OREGON 11, NORTH IDAHO 8

SW Oregon 001 604 0 — 11 14 1

North Idaho 000 350 0 — 8 4 1

Alyssa Smokey and Sterling Williams; Reiss McIntyre, Abbey Brooks (4), Hattie Imbler-Bremner (6) and Lexy Orien.

HITS: SWO — Evans, Mansfield, Bye 2, Smokey 3, Matautia, Andrews 3, Williams 3. NIC — Vanderwiel, Imbler-Bremner, Orien. 2B — Evans, Mansfield, Bye, Matautia, Andrews, Vanderwiel, Orien. 3B — Andrews. HR — Smokey, Imbler-Bremner.

NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Spokane

Thursday’s Games

Walla Walla 14, Centralia 12

Clackamas 8, Chemeketa 6

Lower Columbia 15, Columbia Basin 14

Bellevue 16, Big Bend 15, 8 innings

Everett 5, Edmonds 4

Mt. Hood 15, Skagit Valley 0

North Idaho 12, Douglas 9, 8 innings

Southwestern Oregon 2, Treasure Valley 0

Chemeketa 13, Centralia 7, Centralia out

Columbia Basin 12, Big Bend 10, Big Bend out

Clackamas 6, Walla Walla 4, 8 innings

Lower Columbia 15, Bellevue 10

Edmonds 11, Skagit Valley 8, Skagit Valley out

Douglas 8, Treasure Valley 7, 8 innings, Treasure Valley out

Southwestern Oregon 11, North Idaho 8

Mt. Hood 11, Everett 5

Friday’s Games

Game 17 — No. 8 North Idaho (30-16) vs. No. 10 Chemeketa (14-25), Field 1, 10 a.m.

Game 18 — No. 4 Everett (32-8) vs. No. 11 Columbia Basin (31-18), Field 2, 10 a.m.

Game 19 — No. 6 Lower Columbia (23-19) vs. No. 13 Edmonds (19-23), Field 5, 10 a.m.

Game 20 — No. 2 Walla Walla (43-3) vs. No. 9 Douglas (23-13), Field 4, 10 a.m.

Game 21 — No. 7 Clackamas (22-15) vs. No. 3 Bellevue (32-5), Field 1, 12:30 p.m.

Game 22 — No. 5 Mt. Hood (36-12) vs. No. 1 Southwestern Oregon (40-6), Field 5, 12:30 p.m.

Game 23 — Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 18, Field 2, 12:30 p.m.

Game 24 — Winner Game 19 vs. Winner Game 20, Field 4, 12:30 p.m.

Game 25 — Winner Game 23 vs. Loser Game 21, Field 1, 3:30 p.m.

Game 26 — Winner Game 24 vs. Loser Game 22, Field 5, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Game 27 — Winner Game 21 vs. Winner Game 22, Field 1, 10 a.m. (semifinal)

Game 28 — Winner Game 25 vs. Winner Game 26, Field 5, 10 a.m.

Game 29 — Loser Game 27 vs. Winner Game 28, Field 1, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Game 30 — Winner Game 27 vs. Winner Game 29, Field 1, 11 a.m. (championship game)

Game 31 — Loser Game 30 vs. Winner Game 30, Field 1, 1:15 p.m. (if-necessary game)