On paper, the St. Edmond softball squad was a clear-cut favorite against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows here Tuesday.

Someone forgot to tell the Cowgirls.

The sixth-ranked Gaels (16-10 overall, 8-2 in the North Central Conference) survived a scare from the Cowgirls (4-12), nearly losing all of a seven-run lead before earning an 8-7 victory.

“It’s good to get challenged — especially at this point in the season and when you come out on the positive end of it,” said SEHS head coach Bill Shirbroun. “They definitely put the pressure on. They made plays and put the ball in play. We made some errors that helped them in their big inning.”

Early on the Gaels looked like they would run away with the contest, building a 7-0 lead after plating seven runs in the second inning.

The Cowgirls trimmed the deficit to 7-5 after their half of the fifth, though, and made it a one-run game heading into the seventh inning.

Shirbroun rested starting pitcher Kaili Henning, going with Payton Bradley and Faith Shirbroun in the circle. Henning, who got the Gaels out of a jam in the fifth, went back to third base, but came back in to pitch the seventh, shutting the door with two strikeouts for the save.

In 2 1/3 innings pitched, Henning struck out three batters. Gael hurlers combined to fan nine total.

Henning’s final strikeout was the 400th of her career.

“In tough situations and if we’re in a jam, we want the ball in Kaili’s hands,” Shirbroun said. “We wanted to give her some time off with a busy week, but when we needed her (on Tuesday), she stepped up.”

Bradley, who started the contest in the circle, did most of her damage at the plate. She was 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.

Shirbroun had a double, triple and drove in three runs. Henning, Josie Harvey, Ava Andrew and Myrah Lemon all tallied RBI as well.

Hadley Oswald recorded a triple for the Gaels.

St. Edmond stole 12 bases on the night. Anna Kolacia and Bradley had three each.

For Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Clarissa Hasty and Indy Johnson had two RBI. Payton DeCoster finished with two hits.

In the fifth inning, the Cowboys scored five runs on five hits, capitalizing on three St. Edmond errors. They added two runs on two hits in the sixth.

In St. Edmond’s seven-run second, they had four hits — two for extra bases — and stole seven bases in the frame.

The Gaels are back in action on Wednesday when they host Iowa Falls-Alden. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m.