ST. MARYS — Warren scored four runs in the top of the seventh, but fell just short, 8-7 on Thursday at St. Marys.

“We are learning what it takes to win these games,” said Warren coach Andrew Morrison, whose Dragons are 3-13 overall. “You have to be consistent for the whole game. We are getting closer, but the one bad inning really killed us again.”

Warren led 3-0 before a five-run fourth inning gave St. Marys the lead. After three scoreless innings, four hits and three walks chased sophomore starting pitcher Brady Berdine.

“Brady had some tough luck, but I thought he threw well,” said Morrison. “We missed a couple plays that we should have had and his pitch count got high quickly because they weren’t making a ton of contact for the first few innings. We have put a lot on his shoulders because we have all the confidence in the world in him. Couldn’t be more excited for him in the future.”

St. Marys built an 8-3 lead before Warren’s seventh. It might have been more had left fielder Ben Sowa not laid out for a “completely insane diving catch in the fifth to save a run, full extension,” said Morrison.

“Offensively, I was pretty happy particularly with the fight we showed in the seventh,” said Morrison. “(Christian) Coudriet is probably the best pitcher in D9 and we made him work. Really happy for Carson (Farr) with the big hit in the seventh; he has been building towards that for a while.”

RBI singles by Anthony Errett and Owen Blum cut the lead to 8-5 before Farr’s two-out, two-run single brought Warren to within one.

Owen Blum finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs in the loss.

Carter Redmond threw five pitches in relief to end the game with a bases-loaded strikeout.

“We will keep pushing; another quality opponent in Sharpsville (15-3) tomorrow for Senior Night,” said Morrison. “Hope to see a good crowd there for JT (Blum) and Paul (Smith). They deserve it.”