Melissa Gordon was running out of gas. The St. Anthony’s senior was pitching her 13th inning of the day and faced Kellenberg’s Lexi Zaremba with the bases loaded, two outs and holding a two-run lead.

In a 1-2 count, Zaremba sent a line drive to the left side of the infield and all of Bill Edwards Stadium at Hofstra fell silent.

Third baseman Sarah Bielski laid out to make a diving catch and the St. Anthony’s dugout exploded into celebration.

It was the final out of the top-seeded Friars’ 4-2 win over No. 2 Kellenberg in a title-clinching Game 2 of the NSCHSAA softball championship series Tuesday night. It’s the eighth straight league title for St. Anthony’s.

“Melissa has been working her tail off the last few weeks. She pitched almost a full 14 innings today,” Bielski said. “It just felt amazing. This is my fourth league championship in four years and it feels so good to make that play for my team.”

St. Anthony’s (22-3) will face Archbishop Molloy in the state semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday at Moore Catholic High School. With a win, the Friars would advance to the state final at 2 p.m. at Snug Harbor Little League in Staten Island.

Bielski drove in Juli Murillo and Sophia Lee on a single to center in the top of the second inning. She added a sacrifice fly in the first.

Murillo, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases, was named the league’s regular season MVP.

Gordon was named the Pitcher of the Year and tournament MVP. She allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings in Game 2.

Earlier in the afternoon, St. Anthony’s took a 9-1 win in six innings over Kellenberg in the first game of the series. Gordon struck out 12 and allowed one run on five hits in six innings. She threw 212 total pitches on Tuesday.

“It was very stressful, but I knew I just had to throw strikes and my defense would be behind me no matter what happened,” Gordon said.

Makayla Martinez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a run in Game 1. Her two-run single in the sixth enacted the run rule.

In the fourth, Sophia Erker ended a nine-pitch at-bat with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Bielski, giving the Friars a 2-1 lead. Gordon later drove in Martinez on a single and Gabby King singled, scoring Violet Pryor to cap the three-run inning.

Molly Silecchia totaled four hits and two RBIs and Presley Borne added four hits on the day for Kellenberg (18-8).

Despite graduating six seniors and five Division I players last season, St. Anthony’s remains atop the NSCHSAA.

“It really shows the power of this team and the depth that we have everywhere,” Erker said. “This team doesn’t stop. That’s the legacy that we hold on to. We just don’t stop.”