FORT DODGE, Iowa - Just like her clairvoyant coach had said, the ball bounded to the backstop.

And Treynor's Emma Fiene bolted. She recognized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when she saw one.

Fiene slid headfirst and landed safely on home plate. The Cardinals will never be happier to wash her mud-covered jersey. Thirteenth-rated Treynor advanced to its first state championship softball game, outlasting No. 8 Sumner-Fredericksburg 3-2 in a nine-inning Class 2-A semifinal Thursday at the Rogers Sports Complex that had a little bit of everything.

Fiene felt more like a movie character than an athlete as she broke for home on the wild pitch.

"I hit about halfway home, and everything just slowed down," the junior said. "All of a sudden I was down, and then I crossed home plate and everybody else is in front of me. It was definitely surreal, and I'm still shaking from it."

Treynor (27-5) will play for the 2-A crown here at 12:15 p.