Look who's back.
Warren's baseball and softball team's are back in District 10 Class AAA title games on Monday - both in Erie, and it should come as no surprise.
Warren's co-Region 6 champion softball team is back in the title game for a fourth straight year, going 1-2 the previous three times. Warren's co-Region 8 champion baseball team returns for a third straight year.
They will play back-to-back in Erie with the Warren boys at 1 p.m. at Ainsworth Field, and the Lady Dragons at 4 p.m. at Penn State Behrend.
The Lady Dragons are getting more and more familiar with their opponent Fort LeBoeuf -just as the Bison is getting used to looking across the field at the blue and white. The Dragons and Bison were both 15-1 in Region 6, splitting during the season.
Warren had an early-season 1-0 win on the strength sophomore Alexa Bupp's one-hitter. Cassie Pietkiewicz scattered seven Dragon hits in a 4-1 win for Fort LeBoeuf in the second meeting.
Fact Box
Monday's District 10 championship games
(Game times may change with game lengths)
Baseball
CLASS A
At Slippery Rock University
West Middlesex (14-5) vs. Mercyhurst Prep (12-8), noon
CLASS AA
At Slippery Rock University
Titusville (18-2) vs. Saegertown (21-1), 3 p.m.
CLASS AAA
At Ainsworth Field, Erie
Warren (15-3) vs. Cathedral Prep (18-4), 1 p.m.
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Softball
All at Penn State Behrend, Erie
CLASS AA
Fairview (21-0) vs. Wilmington (15-4), 10 a.m.
CLASS AAAA
McDowell (10-9) vs. Strong Vincent (6-14), noon
CLASS A
Sharpsville (15-2) vs. Saegertown (18-2), 2 p.m.
CLASS AAA
Warren (18-1) vs. Fort LeBoeuf (18-2), 4 p.m.
Last year, LeBoeuf ended the Dragons' season with a 2-0 win in the District 10 title game.
Both teams are stronger this time around.
Warren has won seven in a row after its long loss of the season, and the sophomore Bupp has 17 of the 18 victories pitching. She's thrown 11 shutouts. The Dragons beat Hickory, 6-2, on Thursday to advance to Monday's title game at 4 p.m. at Penn State Behrend.
Add in a timely and powerful offense to good pitching and defense and head coach Mark Bupp hopes its Warren's turn this year.
Sophomore second baseman Kaitlin Ishman has nine homers this season to lead the team. The leadoff hitter is second on the club with 25 RBI. Bupp swings a mean bat herself, hitting seven homers with a team-best 27 RBI.
Jaimie Eaton, Kristin Hultquist and Rachel Hasselman have also hit homers this year. All told, the Dragons have hit 21 home runs, but won on Thursday without a single one.
LeBoeuf and Harbor Creek were tied, 1-1, in the fifth inning of Thursday's semifinal game before the Bison erupted for nine runs. Fort LeBoeuf pounded out 12 hits, with junior first baseman Amanda Krolczyk going 3-for-4. The Bison received a solid pitching effort from senior Cassie Pietkiewicz, who scattered six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Pietkiewicz pitched both games against Warren this year.
"In the playoffs, you tend to expect the unexpected," said Warren softball coach Mark Bupp. "We realize it's a one-game season right now - to continue playing we need to go out and play our best right now. While we're familiar with the opponent, we realize the focus has to be on ourselves (in doing what we need to do)."
Warren's baseball team is also familiar with Prep, having beat the Ramblers, 4-0, in last year's D-10 Class AAA semifinals. The Dragons meet Prep at 1 p.m. Monday at Ainsworth Field in Erie.
Prep is 18-4 this year after a 16-1 win over Meadville and 5-1 win on Friday over General McLane, and the Ramblers have played 14 games this season at Ainsworth.
The team has hitters, including Eli Flynn, Scott Hess and Kody Kondrlik, who are all hitting around .500 with around 30 hits each. Flynn has five hits and four RBI in Prep's two playoff wins. He has 28 RBI on the season. Mike Piotrowski started and pitched four innings against McLane.
The pitching staff is Jamie Lauria, Piotrowski and Chris Francis. Lauria may get the start since Piotrowski started Friday. Francis has been coming in to close wins of late.
"Prep always has a solid team, so we have to just be ready for anything," said Warren coach Jeff Passaro, whose Dragons have won four out of their last five games. "Just go there and do the best we can."
Hank Morrison leads Warren in RBI, but Warren has a number of experienced players. Kevin VanOrd, for example, stepped up on Friday against Grove City after Morrison was intentionally walked, and delivered a three-run go-ahead double.
Six different pitchers have thrown for Warren, and it will be someone other than Matt Jaskolka on Monday. Jaskolka threw a complete game against Grove City, allowing three runs on seven hits.