Friday night’s conference tournament softball final lived up to the hype, and so did the saying that it is hard to beat a team three times.

No. 3 King’s Fork High School battled for eight innings against No. 1 Nansemond River High School before claiming a 3-2 win and becoming the very first team to bear the title Ironclad Conference tournament softball champions.

“I’m very proud of my girls,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Richard Froemel said. “I tell you, they’re resilient.”

After a year in which King’s Fork had to work through injuries, Froemel said it got healthy at the right time.

And it was hungry for a win against the Lady Warriors (19-2) after lopsided losses to them earlier in the season.

“They wanted it,” Froemel said. “They knew that the last time they played them they got outplayed.”

The Lady Bulldogs (15-8) played an error-less game that their coach called a total team effort, with good pitching from junior Sydney Wash, good defense and just enough offense.

King’s Fork’s Kaylas have worked particularly well together lately. A week after senior Kayla Harbin signed to play college ball because fellow senior Kayla Jones gave her an encouraging push, Jones delivered a hit in the top of the eighth that nudged Harbin to home plate for the winning run.

Senior Ashley Roten went 2-for-4, junior Jasmine Holloman went 1-for-2 and junior Shaina Holland went 1-for-3.

Wash pitched the whole game to improve to 13-5 on the mound, allowing seven hits and two runs.

“King’s Fork played very well,” Nansemond River head coach Gabe Rogers said. He said his team did not play badly, but it committed a couple of errors and gave up walks. Harbin got on base in the eighth off a walk.

The Lady Warriors were frustrated by some controversial calls from the umpires.

“In games this tight, human error unfortunately comes into play,” Rogers said. But overall, he said, “We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position.”

He said his team did not hit the ball like he knows they can, but noted sophomore Calah Savage had a good game, going 2-for-4, with a triple.

Both teams move on to regionals next week, playing separate games on Monday at 5:30 p.m. King’s Fork plays its first ever game at that level, hosting Churchland High School, while Nansemond River visits Deep Creek High School.