The softball program at Pine Creek High School may be getting hot at the right time of the season.

The Eagles needed a strong finish to the regular season to have any postseason chance. And they got it, winning their last four games to move up to Class 5A No. 31 ahead of Monday’s announcement of each classification’s 32-team regional field.

In this week’s look-in on softball, we’ll take a look at a few teams who may have punched their playoff tickets with strong finishes to the regular season.

Class 5A

No. 31 Pine Creek: The Eagles (13-10) beat their final four opponents by a combined score of 56-16.

In their finale on Thursday, senior Lexi Genin homered and junior Kyleigh Croyle drove in her team-leading 40th run of the year as they beat No. 53 Doherty 12-1.

Before that, they had big wins over No. 29 Vista Ridge and No. 33 Liberty.

If they stay at No. 31, they would likely be headed to No. 2 Broomfield’s region. Broomfield — also the Eagles — beat No. 1 Cherokee Trail on Thursday to move to 23-0 on the season.

No. 30 Mountain Vista: With just eight wins, and if things stay where they are over the final two days of the regular season, the Golden Eagles (8-15) would have the fewest in the 5A regional field.

No matter, though. They’re finding wins of late.

Before this month, they had just five wins and were out of the playoff picture. Amid a 3-0 October, they beat No. 24 Rock Canyon 8-4 on the strength of three more RBIs from Shelby Chesser. Six of the sophomore’s team-leading 18 RBIs came during their current three-game winning streak.

Class 4A

No. 24 Mead: The Mavericks (12-11) were flirting with the bubble before winning their last three games.

They finished the regular season with a dominant 13-3 win over No. 13 Niwot on Thursday. The offensive explosion came against the Cougars’ 14-game winner, Kianna Butler, who leads the classification with 183 strikeouts.

No. 32 Wheat Ridge: The Farmers (12-10) have won three of their last four games, though their playoff hopes may come down to Friday’s finale against No. 26 Pomona.

They lost to the Panthers 14-3 last month yet have played better in October. Sophomore Haley Cross has won her last two outings, allowing just one run while striking out 12 across seven innings.

Class 3A

No. 26 Sand Creek: The Scorpions (8-15) have won three of their last four ahead of their finale against 4A No. 28 Pueblo South on Saturday.

Last weekend, they swept No. 27 Florence in a doubleheader, outscoring the Huskies 32-10. Then on Thursday, they scored 24 runs in a three-inning win over No. 47 Mitchell.

Sophomore Kayla Dempsey has driven in seven runs over her last four games and leads the team with 23 RBIs.

No. 32 Jefferson Academy: The Jaguars (7-13) snapped a four-game losing streak with wins in their last two.

Their playoff fate may come down to their finale against No. 8 Forge Christian on Saturday. If they win, they’re sure to be in. If they lose, will the jump in their strength of schedule be enough?

Ellie Arnold leads the team with 31 RBIs and has a .609 batting average.