The Region 5 champs sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run first inning en route to an 11-1 semifinal win over Warren at UPMC Park.

“Twenty-four foul balls they hit off Ben (Berdine),” said Warren head coach Rick Eaton of the Dragons ace. “He threw 70 pitches in the first inning.”

The Huskies scratched and clawed at-bat after at-bat, especially in the bottom of the first.

Leadoff hitter Austin Vaughn’s seven-pitch at-bat ended with a line-drive single to right. Cameron Williamson followed with a single to left on a nine-pitch at-bat. Four pitches later, lefty pitcher Cody Smith doubled in both runners.

Times Observer Photo by Jon Siter Below, Warren’s Ben Sowa is introduced on the scoreboard at UPMC Park on Monday during the District 10 Class 4A semifinals versus Harbor Creek.

Berdine battled right back. He struck out cleanup hitter Aiden Kelly on a full-count pitch.

But, like the old saying goes, you can’t give a good team extra outs. Berdine induced a groundball, but an infield error came at the worst time. It extended the inning and Berdine’s pitch count.

Michael Pepicello had an eight-pitch walk to load the bases and Gio Barbato a seven-pitch RBI walk.

“It was a little tighter zone than what I thought we would see,” said Eaton. “The inning escalated and it made it 6-0 and you’re down.”

A second bases-loaded walk made the score 4-0 and Vaughn had his second hit of the inning, a two-run single to right for runs five and six.

Times Observer Photo by Jon Sitler Harbor Creek’s Eli Moon slides into second ahead of the tag of Warren second baseman Ben Berdine late in an 11-1 D10 4A playoff seminal win over the Dragons, Monday at UPMC Park in Erie. Dragons shortstop Micah Passmore backs up the play.

Only two of the six runs were earned, and a foul pop to first lost in the sun didn’t help, but was typical of how the inning played out.

Around all this mess, Berdine struck out the side. He allowed a third earned run in the second on a two-out wild pitch, but the Mercyhurst University commit had thrown 93 pitches in two innings.

“We got to where we wanted; it just wasn’t our day,” said Eaton. “Baseball — you could go out tomorrow and the game could be 2-1. We didn’t hit, and I thought (Ben) threw pretty well. … It just wasn’t our day, but we gave it an effort.”

Berdine allowed five hits, walked four and struck out three in 2 1/3 innings. This followed his win in the quarterfinals over Grove City. The senior finished with six of Warren’s 11 wins in the 11-9 campaign, a 1.71 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Vaughn finished 3 for 3 on Monday with a walk and two RBIs from the leadoff spot for Harbor Creek (20-2), which will meet Cathedral Prep on Wednesday for the District 10 title. Prep defeated Slippery Rock 7-2 on Monday in the other semifinal game. The winner will be the first champ since the Dragons walked off General McLane two years ago. COVID canceled the 2020 spring season.

Cody Smith was 2 for 4 with three RBIs in the 10-run-rule, five-inning contest. He also struck out nine over five innings. The only run allowed was unearned.

Eric Dippold walked to start the top of the fifth. Eventually, pinch runner Konner Hoffman came around to score when senior James Swanson reached on a Huskies’ throwing error.

Ben Sowa’s infield single to lead off the second was Warren’s lone hit.

Berdine, center fielder Swanson, third baseman Alex Borger, shortstop Micah Passmore and outfielders Dylan Maeder and Ethan Wilson played their last games for Warren.