Houston, we no longer have a problem.

With two more victories on Saturday, the Humboldt State women find themselves right back in line to claim their first region championship in seven years, and will face off against Western Oregon this morning at 11 to decide who travels to the Lone Star State to compete in the NCAA national championships.

“It’s one game now,” said HSU head coach Frank Cheek. “It all boils down to one game and hopefully we’ll rise to the occasion.”

The Lady Jacks have certainly risen to the occasion thus far, winning their fourth and fifth consecutive elimination games Saturday, 8-1 over Cal State Dominguez Hills and 1-0 over previously unbeaten Western Oregon.

Since losing their tourney opener 10-1 to Cal State San Bernardino, the Jacks have outscored their opponents 26-5 over five games, while giving up one run or less in four of those contests.

A win today would also seal a little slice of history for HSU, with no team in the West Regions ever winning six consecutive games in the losers’ bracket to claim the championship.

The second game Saturday was a classic pitchers’ duel, with HSU’s Lizzy Prescott barely edging WOU’s Katie Fleer.

The only run of the game came in the bottom of the first, when HSU designated hitter Ashley Oltjenbruns hit a two-out single to score Natalie Galletly from second.

After that, Prescott kept the Wolves at bay with another stellar performance, claiming her fifth tourney win, a West Region record for a single postseason.

“I don’t know what to say about her,” Oltjenbruns said of Prescott. “She came through for us once again.”

Prescott allowed just six hits in 14 innings, while striking out 16. Through six games at the tournament (40 innings in four days), she has 48 strikeouts and has held opponents to four or fewer hits in each of the past three games.

“I felt strong and I felt confident,” Prescott said. “I know my defense is there for me. If they make an error, they come back with a hit. I feel good with them now. I have a lot of confidence in them.”

After struggling with errors at last week’s conference tournament and in the opening game this week, the Jacks have now committed just three errors in their past four games combined.

Against WOU, HSU third baseman Francesca West made the defensive play of the day with a spectacular catch on a hard-hit line drive for the second out in the final inning, while freshman left fielder Nikki Ketteringham made a nice sliding catch in the sixth.

“That catch was phenomenal,” Cheek said of West’s snag. “I don’t know if many people would have caught that.”

Prescott got out of jams in the third and fifth innings, allowing a pair of hits in each to give the Wolves runners in scoring position, but both times she pitched her way out of it against WOU standout Jessica Hallmark, who came into the game leading the tournament in RBIs.

Fleer was just as impressive and has led the way on a Wolves team that had outscored its first three opponents 20-1 while rolling through the winners’ bracket.

“She’s been outstanding for us,” WOU head coach Pam Knox said of Fleer, a 6-foot 3-inch senior. “She’s probably the most under-rated pitcher in the region and she’s just done a tremendous job for us at this tournament.”

In the earlier game, the Jacks’ bats exploded for five runs in the top of the seventh, with seven consecutive hits, including back-to-back home runs from Oltjenbruns and Chrissy Motzny.

Oltjenbruns, who is batting 8-for19 at the tournament, hit a three-run blast to left center field, her fifth long ball of the year, while Motzny’s home run was her first of the season, becoming the second HSU player to achieve that feat at the tournament (Geneva Perrine is the other).

Ketteringham, Galletly, Motzy and Oltjenbruns each finished with two hits in a 13-hit team performance.

“We came out today with fire in our eyes,” Oltjenbruns said. “We believed in ourselves. We see Houston in our future.”

The Jacks are 5-1 against the Wolves this season, although Western’s one win did come in Arcata.

Today’s game will be broadcast live on KATA 1340 AM, as well as via the school Web site at www.hsujacks.com.