On Monday, in its first game in 17 days due to COVID quarantining, Warren welcomed — guess who — first-place Villa to Lady Dragons Field.

The Dragons jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Victors clawed back for a 5-4 win with a go-ahead home run by Haley Dever in the top of the seventh; the same Haley Dever that had a two-out, two-run game-winning hit for a 3-2 win over a month ago in Erie.

Villa is 11-1 overall and 8-0 in Region 5. Warren is 7-2 and 4-2 with both losses — by one run each — to Villa.

“I’m proud of the team for how we picked up right where we left off,” said Warren coach Carissa Stuart, whose Dragons last played April 24. “We came out hitting the ball hard. We just didn’t keep it going for seven innings. I knew they (Villa) would hit, and I knew our defense would handle it. Winning was going to come down to hitting and we just fell short.”

Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger Eisenhower’s Zane Alexander celebrates after scoring the game-winning run during Monday’s 9-8 Region 3 victory over Maplewood in Russell.

The Dragons didn’t look like they had missed a beat from a seven-game winning streak. Katie Madigan and Rylie Yeager each singled to start the bottom of the first and scored on Alix Lytle’s double. Warren left runners on second and third despite no outs.

In the second, Madigan and Yeager did it again for a run, and Kelsey Stuart’s double scored Yeager for a 4-0 lead.

Stuart kept Villa scoreless through three, including center fielder Ellee Irwin robbing a possible two-run blast by Annabella Cipalla at the fence.

That came after right fielder Lexi Hoffman was forced to leave after sliding into the fence going hard after a foul ball.

In the fourth, Caitlyn Plyler’s line drive went over the fence for a 4-2 Warren lead. In the fifth, Cipalla doubled in a run and Rylee Kregel singled to tie it up for Villa.

After the two-run Warren second, Jenna Wagner retired nine straight and just three more hits, opening the door for Dever’s go-ahead homer in the seventh.

Irwin singled and was bunted to second in the sixth, but was stranded.

Madigan, Yeager, and Lytle had two hits each for Warren. Kregel had three hits for Villa.

Stuart struck out seven in the loss; Hess had eight strikeouts.