HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College softball team is headed to its third tournament appearance in the past four seasons.

The Fighting Saints split its doubleheader against the Providence Argonauts on Friday in Great Falls. Combined with an Eastern Oregon loss on Friday, the Saints are assured of making the conference tournament. 

Carroll (17-22, 10-15 Cascade Collegiate Conference) shutout the Argonauts (8-27, 8-17) in the first game, 11-0 in five innings. The Saints used 11 hits, including a solo home run by Megan McCormick, to put away the Argonauts. 

"I thought the first one was the best game we put together all year in all three facets," Saints coach Aaron Jackson said. "Great defense. Great mound game from Ali. Offensively we had elite mindsets. We were hammering balls."

McCormick and Yarnall both went 2-for-2 at the plate. 

Ali Williams went 1-for-3 at the plate in the first game, bringing in three runs. She got the win (7-7) on the mound for Carroll, too. She threw five innings, allowing five hits while striking out four. 

Carroll outhit Providence 11-5 in the first outing. 

Providence flipped the script in the second outing. 

The Argonauts grabbed a 3-0 lead after the first inning and kept the Saints at bay throughout to win 8-3, though Carroll had its fair share of opportunities to mount a rally. 

Kendall Mooney hit a sacrifice fly, Amber Brewer hit a RBI single and Jessica Nimmo hit a RBI double to scatter the Saints' three runs over the third, fifth and sixth innings. 

Yarnall led the Saints' bats in the second game, too, going 2-for-3 at the plate. She was the only Saint to record multiple hits in Game 2. 

The Argonauts outhit Carroll 10-8 in the second game. Carroll recorded three errors in the second contest. 

The split combined with an Eastern Oregon loss guarantees the Saints a postseason berth. The Saints will finish either fifth or sixth in the Cascade. 

Carroll concludes its series against Providence on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. back in Great Falls.