"We just plain got beat in game 1" said head coach Anthony Gilich. "The conditions were horrible for both teams, the wind was howling everywhere. It was miserable."

Central Arizona College split the doubleheader with Eastern Arizona on Tuesday and the head coach will tell you how fortunate they were in doing that. Fortunate and pretty smart. You make your own luck as some say.

The game one final was 8-3 with Eastern Arizona winning and Central managed just five hits and not many opportunities.

Game two was a different story. Central went up 8-4 and had to really hold on to just force extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth with the score 9-7, Eastern loaded the bases with no outs after scoring one run to make it 9-8. After a sacrifice fly, it was tied at nine with runners on second and third, one out. Ninety feet away from being swept.

Here's where you earn your own luck. Central adjusted next with five infielders, and two outfielders, one in left-center, the other in right-center, both playing very shallow for a possible play at the plate.

Nick Trogerlic-Iverson was on the mound, and he wasn't coming out. Iverson with the strikeout of the day, now there are two outs. With runners on second and third, the defense reverted to normal positioning and Iverson got a groundout to Roger Varela to end the inning tied at nine.

Central answered with two runs in the top of the 10th, and still had to fight off Eastern in the bottom. With a man on, Central got the remaining two outs and wrestled away a hard earned split.

With all of the Tuesday games, the win in game two earned the Cowboys a spot in the D1 Regional. They could finish as high as second. or even in a three way tie for the final three positions, and they would win any tie-breaker scenario. So what a way to get in.

With a sweep of Cochise and a few other things happening. Central could take the two spot and host a weekend play-off set, but they could also finish fourth. No matter what, this division is for anyone.