It doesn’t get much more exciting than this.

The Del Norte Warriors will get the opportunity to play for their first North Coast Section championship in softball since 2008 after they beat Salesian 4-3 in their Division-4 semifinal in Crescent City on Wednesday evening.

And they won in thrilling fashion, overcoming a one-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-run, walk-off home run by junior Tsinte Steinruck.

With the Warriors down to their final out, the third baseman’s clutch blast skipped off the outfield fence to secure one of the program’s most thrilling victories ever and more importantly keep their season going.

And that kickstarted a celebration the likes of which the Warriors have rarely seen before.

“They were crying and laughing, the whole nine yards,” a delighted head coach Aaron Healy said. “It was so cool.”

Making it even cooler is the fact that Steinruck didn’t hit particularly well for much of the season, but the reliable third baseman has raised the level of her game at the plate this postseason and it showed on Wednesday.

The victory sets up a championship showdown at No. 1 seed St. Helena on Friday night after the Saints edged Fortuna 3-1 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

“That one swing is all it took,” Healy added. “I’m hoping that sparks us a little and we can go down there and go out and play our game.”

Check out video highlights of Steinruck’s big blast above …

It maybe shouldn’t have come down to the final at-bat after some sloppy defense proved costly for the home team early in Wednesday’s game.

Three early Del Norte errors helped the Pride take a two-run lead in the top of the first inning, as the Warriors looked a little nervy at the start of one of their biggest games of the season.

But the Del Norte girls would settle down and grow into the game, and they cut the deficit in half with their first run in the bottom of the second inning.

File photo – Tsinte Steinruck

The Pride would add to their advantage, however,  with another run in the top of the fifth, before a solo home run by outstanding Del Norte catcher Carlee Harper in the sixth would leave just one run between the two teams once again.

The Warriors would carry that momentum into the seventh, and with two outs and Koy McQuillen on base Steinruck delivered.

“It was a very exciting game,” said Healy, who is in his first year with the team.

Harper and Steinruck each finished 1-for-3 with a home run, while Audrey Phillips also was 1-for-3 and Shay Nolan finished 1-for-2.

The four hits were all the Warriors could muster, but they certainly made them count.

The visitors managed just two hits.

Nolan got the start in the circle and pitched four solid innings, before McKenna Curtis came in to relief her in the fifth and closed out the game.

“She pretty much shut them down,” Healy said of Curtis.

The early defense, however, was a cause of concern.

“Our defense is better than that,” the head coach said. “It was a good ball game, but I think we gave up runs we shouldn’t have and then we had to figure out a way to come back.”

File photo – Carlee Harper

The players responded in emphatic fashion and the coach praised his defense for being “rock solid” after the early miscues.

Friday’s NCS championship appearance will be the second straight for the Warriors, who lost to Cardinal Newman in last season’s decider.

A victory over St. Helena would also secure just the H-DNL’s second-ever Big 5, Charles Lakin tournament and NCS championship hat trick, something only the 2019 McKinleyville Panthers have ever achieved.

The 2008 Redwood Empire Class 2A NCS crown is Del Norte’s only ever section title in the sport.

Friday’s game is set for 5 p.m. and will be played on an all-weather field.

File photo – Shay Nolan