For the second time in five days Sandra Day O'Connor's softball team made its way to the East Valley -- a pretty fair road trip from the northern portion of the Valley. The first trip this past Saturday ended in a 7-6 loss at Corona del Sol -- the Lady Eagles first power-ranking loss.

Trip 2 was to Hamilton Thursday afternoon and the result was leaning toward another long bus ride home. But O'Connor's bats came to life in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings along with a trio of costly Hamilton errors allowing for a come-from-behind 7-4 victory in a Division I game matching top-10 power-ranking schools.

O'Connor, second in the power-rankings at the start of play Thursday, ran its record to 23-5 overall, 12-1 in power-ranking games. Sophomore Hayley Busby's three-run double with two out in the top of the eighth was the winning hit. O'Connor also made a fine defensive play on a relay in the last of the eighth to shut down a potential Hamilton rally.

O'Connor coach Melissa Hobson was in finer spirits to make the 48-mile drive home Thursday than she was following Saturday's 7-6 loss at Corona.

"What pleased me the most was we continued to put the ball in play," Hobson said. "When you do that good things can happen. We got contributions from everyone. It was pleasing to see (last out) because we practice cutoff plays a lot. They are so important."

Hamilton (15-11, 9-5 prg), No. 5 in the D-I power-rankings, was sailing along with a 4-0 lead through five innings behind junior pitcher Cheyenne Noli. A three-run triple by Hamilton's Shannon Rackoski in the second inning was the key hit to that point. Rackoski's double in the fourth led to Hamilton's other run. Noli allowed five hits through five innings and on walks -- three of the hits in the first inning all of the infield variety -- but escaped damage. She also pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the third.

O'Connor finally touched Noli for a runs in the sixth on alternating solo homers by Gavyn Gerardin and winning pitcher Stevie McLemore that pulled the Lady Eagles within 4-2 heading to the seventh.

Speed at the top of its lineup from leadoff hitter Savanna Avila and second--place hitter Justyce McClain and two hits evened the game in the top of the seventh. Catcher Emilee Erickson's third hit of the day drove in a run to make it 4-3 and Gerardin whacked an 0-2 pitch off the top of the centerfield fence to tie the game at 4.

The bottom of O'Connor's lineup started the game-winning rally after McLemore retired Hamilton in order in the last of the seventh. Jamilia Cosay singled and was sacrificed to second by Madison Westmoreland. Conscious of the speed at the top of the lineup, Hamilton committed errors on back-to-back grounders to short by Avila and McClain that loaded the bases. After a force out at the plate for the second out, O'Connor had one more chance to capitalize with a bases-loaded hit. Busby obliged by ripping an 0-2 pitch to right-center clearing the bases.

Hamilton made noise in the bottom of the eighth after McLemore retired her eighth and ninth hitter in a row back to the fifth to get within one out of the win. Hamilton's NIcole Spykstra singled and Vanessa Marquez lined a double to the fence in left. Hamilton coach Rocky Parra decided to wave Spykstra home, but the relay from left to shortstop Grace Lyons and on to Erickson was perfect cutting down Spykstra to end the game. Parra immediately pointed to himself in the third-base coaching shouldering the blame for not allowing his team a shot to bring the tying run to the plate.