Rachel Mitchell hit a one-out home run in the top of the ninth off Robin Mackin and Louisiana State completed a 1-0 victory over Fresno State Friday at the NCAA Palo Alto Regional.
Mackin went the distance, allowing eight hits and striking out 10.
Top-seed Louisiana State advances to the championship round on Saturday at Boyd and Jill Smtih Family Stadium. Third-seed Fresno State was scheduled to face the winner of the No. 2 Stanford-No. 4 Cal State-Northrdige game at 6 p.m. today in the double-elimination format.
If the Bulldogs win today's late game, they will play unbeaten LSU for the championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. That game, and a second if necessary, will be televised on ESPN2.
Mitchell hit Mackin's 141st pitch of the 148 she threw over the left field fence. The ball got help from a stiff wind blowing to left.
LSU pitcher Emily Turner limited the Bulldogs to two hits. Haley Perkins snapped the no-hit bid with a lead-off single in the sixth, and Nichole Willis led off the seventh with a base hit to left. The Bulldogs had only one runner reach second base.
LSU had at least two runners on base in four of the first eight innings. Each time, Mackin came through with clutch strikeouts.