-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Faith Shibroun of St. Edmond celebrate after the Gaels beat Collins-Maxwell during 1A quarterfinals on Tuesday at Rogers Park

For the third time in program history, St. Edmond is in the state softball semifinals.

The Gaels (26-5 overall) face Martensdale-St. Marys (29-6) at 7 p.m. on Channel Seeds Field at Rogers Park on Wednesday for a spot in the title round.

St. Edmond has twice before finished third, doing so in 2010 and again five years after that.

An RBI-triple by Lauren Gibb was the key hit in a two-run fifth that pushed the Gaels past Collins-Maxwell in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, 4-2. Playing on their home field in front of a large crowd of green and white, they plated four earned runs off Erica Houge, who had allowed just four in 173 innings entering the night.

Gibb had two RBI and stole two bases, Josie Harvey had two hits and scored a run, and Mariah Myers scored twice with a pair of steals. Kaili Henning struck out six and allowed just seven hits.

“We had a lot of nerves last year that I felt like we got out of our system,” SEHS head coach Bill Shirbroun said. “The girls played with a lot of confidence and did what we asked of them.”

The Blue Devils won it all in 2012 and finished second last year, making their 12th appearance at state. They have qualified three straight summers now.

Nine of the 10 starters from a season ago are back, led by sisters Brynnly and Campbell German. The seniors are headed to the University of South Dakota in the fall, and both helped MSM reach the state basketball tournament.

In the quarterfinals, the Blue Devils knocked off Edgewood-Colesburg, 2-1, scoring runs in the fourth and fifth. Campbell German struck out 13 and allowed just three hits while Brynnly German drove in a run.

Last year, Martensdale-St. Marys topped St. Edmond in the state quarterfinals, 1-0, on its way to a silver trophy.