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Dragons square off with Meadville in quarterfinals

Warren shortstop Nate Betts and his teammates will take on Meadville today in the District 10 Class 4A semifinals today at Ainsworth Field in Erie (2 p.m.).

It’s on to the next one for the Warren baseball team.

After a 10-0, 6-inning win over Sharon in their first round game on Saturday, the Dragons meet Meadville today at Ainsworth Field in Erie with a trip to the District 10 Class 4A semifinals on the line.

The game was originally scheduled for 4 p.m., but has been moved up to 2 p.m. in an attempt to beat the rain, which is in the forecast for this evening.

The two teams met back on March 29, in what was a 6-2 Warren win in its season opener.

Since then, all the Dragons did was roll to a co-Region 6 championship, doing so with excellent pitching and a lineup that has gotten stronger and stronger as the season has gone on.

Both of those qualities were on full display in the win over Sharon, as the Dragons got a 4-hit shutout from Matt Leonard on the mound and an offensive effort that saw them pound out 12 hits.

They will be facing a Meadville team that is coming off a similar result in its opening round game, a 10-0 win over Strong Vincent.

“Warren caught us after the Tennessee trip,” Meadville coach Bruce Stewart told the Meadville Tribune after the win over Strong Vincent. “We’ll have to bring our A-game if we play them.”

Nick Frantz is hitting .434 with 15 RBIs for the Bulldogs, while Nick Rinella checks in at .368.

Chad Neugebauer is the staff ace for Meadville, posting a 2.92 ERA in 38 1/3 innings pitched.

He has allowed 42 hits and struck out 30.

Seth Baldensperger and Leonard both pitched in the season opening win in March.

The Dragons will once again look for production from the middle of the order, as hitters three through seven went 11-for-17 with seven RBIs in the win over Sharon. They boast a team batting average on the season of .325.

The winner of this game will face the winner of Slippery Rock and Oil City (game at Slippery Rock University) in the semifinals on Friday. Hickory and General McLane will follow that game at SRU, with the winner of that contest to meet either Harbor Creek or Grove City, which will follow the Warren-Meadville game at Ainsworth.

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