HASTINGS - The tying run stood 60 feet from home.

Keep her there, and Lincoln Southwest would accomplish what so few softball teams have in Nebraska state history: take a state softball title from the hands of Papillion-La Vista.

But the Monarchs' next two hitters, Megan Southworth and Amanda Neumann, came to the plate with .400-plus averages and all that tradition. To say that there was drama in the chilly night air at the Smith Softball Complex was an understatement.

"I was so nervous," said Becca Changstrom. The junior pitcher had blanked the Monarchs earlier in the day, but now she had to come up with something truly special.

"I was just trying to not let them hit it," she said.

When a sacrifice fly would have tied it, Changstrom got Southworth to pop up to third baseman Elizabeth Dike. Then Neumann popped up, and Dike's catch in foul territory wrapped up a 4-3 win and set off a Green Day celebration.

"This team has bonded tremendously," Southwest coach Mark Watt said. "We had the best pitcher in the state, and we just rode her and had other players step up and make big plays."

None bigger than junior Monica Knabe, a .231 hitter whose two-run home run with two outs in the sixth inning set the stage for the late theatrics. Knabe, who wasn't even a full-time starter early in the season, said she got a pitch on the outer half of the plate and just went with it.

"I just wanted to try to get a base hit," she said, still shaking either from the excitement or the falling temperatures.

"Tonight, we just had to calm down and get all the jitters out," she said. "Once we relaxed, we played right with them."

Indeed, second-ranked Southwest put itself in prime position to win the title by shutting out the top-ranked Monarchs 2-0 on Friday morning. Changstrom allowed just three hits and struck out 16.

Papillion-La Vista bounced back to eliminate Papillion-La Vista South 2-0, and in the first of two possible championship games, the Monarchs jolted Southwest with a three-run first.

Watt said he sensed that his team was tight, which probably wasn't a surprise considering the Silver Hawks had never won a state title.

In fact, all 12 of Papillion-La Vista's titles have come since the last Class A championship by a Lincoln team (Southeast in 1994).

"This team plays a whole lot better when it's loose," Watt said. "The second game, I thought we did that."

The Silver Hawks (34-7) followed up Papillion-La Vista's 6-1 win by scoring two in the top of the first inning of the deciding game. Sacrifice flies from Alli Catlett and Mallory Noakes drove in runs that Papillion-La Vista coach Todd Petersen said were key in setting the tone.

The Monarchs (35-3) answered with two runs in the third and a lead-off home run from Alexis Glesmann in the fifth inning to take the lead, and with Karissa Hovinga on in relief, Papillion-La Vista was positioned to add yet another piece of hardware to the bulging trophy case.

But with two outs in the sixth, Ashley Dunn dropped in an innocent single, which Knabe followed up with an exclamation point.

"We hit a good pitch to take the lead, and they hit a good pitch to take the lead back," Petersen said. "Sometimes, it doesn't always go your way."

Not even if you're a 12-time champion with your best hitters at the plate.

"They're an amazing team," Changstrom said. "It makes winning it even more exciting."

Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.