MOBILE, Ala.  – For the second straight game Friday, Coastal Carolina’s ninth-seeded Chanticleers pushed across runs early and late, and because of that the Chanticleers are still alive on the final day of the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship.

Payton Ebersole’s bunt single and heads-up baserunning by Kennedy Ellis set up Makiya’s RBI ground ball in the top of the seventh inning, pushing across the eventual winning run as Coastal Carolina topped fourth-seeded Troy 3-2 in Friday’s final elimination game.

The Chanticleers (25-28), becoming the lowest seed ever to advance to the tournament’s final day, will meet third-seeded Texas State at 11 a.m. Saturday in the event’s final elimination game. The winner of that contest will take on top-seeded Louisiana in the 2:30 p.m. championship game.

“We’re not done yet,” said Coastal coach Kelley Green. “I keep saying it, but I couldn’t be more proud of them. They certainly deserve this, they’ve been working hard all year, and the overall record doesn’t say the kind of team we are and how much we’ve improved from day one until now.”

The Chanticleers scored two runs in the first inning before Troy (31-21) rallied with a single run in the fifth and Kelly Horne’s solo homer leading off the bottom of the sixth that tied it 2-2.

Shae Schreckengost drew a one-out walk and Ellis pinch-ran, and Ebersole followed with a bunt in front of the plate. Ebersole beat the throw to first, and Ellis alertly went all the way to third when no Troy defender covered the bag.

“They came out in the seventh and took advantage of a mistake,” said Troy co-coach Taylor Smartt. “We didn’t get back to third and cover, so they were able to go first to third. They took advantage and didn’t make a mistake when we did.”

Thomas, who had two of her team’s four-hit total, followed with a ground ball up the middle that scored Ellis with the eventual winning run.

“It was just trying to sneak one down,” Green said. “Payton’s a really good bunter, she has really good touch on her bunts. We just thought she could beat one out and get Kiya (Thomas) an opportunity with less than two outs, and it worked. She laid down a perfect bunt.”

The late run made a winner of Coastal pitcher Kaitlin Beasley-Polko (15-10), who has thrown four complete games in the tournament. She took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished with eight strikeouts.

“I thought Kaitlin threw well,” Green said. “She was throwing hard, the ball was moving, she was able to change speeds. She gave a little bit, but wound up getting out of some innings. She’s just been a warrior for us out there.”

A leadoff double by Thomas and a bunt single by Abbey Montoya in the first inning led to two runs after Troy starter Leanna Johnson was hit by numerous illegal pitch calls that led to two walks. The first to Maddy Jennings forced in Thomas, and Montoya scored moments later on a wild pitch.

Libby Baker came in relief and only allowed two hits the rest of the way, allowing only two baserunners before Coastal’s seventh-inning rally.

“She’s really gutsy,” Smartt said of Baker. “Her drop ball was on and she just continued to get swing and misses. She is a competitor, she did that in the first game today and she came in and did it again.”

Troy got three straight two-out hits from Katelynn DeLeon, Kennedi Gaton and Logan Calhoun, the first three hits Beasley-Polko allowed, in the fifth inning to score one run, and Horne led off the sixth by sending a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall to tie the game and set up Coastal’s late rally.