By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorHours after clinching a spot at state, members of the Warrenton softball team planned to celebrate together by doing typical teenage stuff.The sleepovers have become a chance for the teammates to be around each other away from the diamond and to tighten the bond amongst them.“All of us come together,” said senior catcher Abby Meyers after Saturday’s 17-2 win over Incarnate Word. “We watch movies, we tell secrets; it is so much fun.”The camaraderie has been key to the Warriors’ success.Warrenton sports a 26-2 record heading into the Class 3 semifinals. The Warriors open the state tourney against Jefferson City Helias at 2 p.m. Friday.The playoff run has erased some of the disappointment from recent finishes. In 2013 and 2014, Warrenton won conference and district titles. However, the Warriors’ season ended both years with losses in the sectional round.This year, they became only the second team in program history to advance past sectionals and the first to reach state.“I can’t even explain how good it feels,” Meyers said. “We have been working on this so hard. I love the girls to death. We are so much of a family.”The roster features a nice blend of experienced seniors and talented underclassmen. Members of the senior class are Taylor Nordwald, Amanda LaFaver, Erica Rugh, Sarah Hoelscher and Meyers. The rest of the roster is comprised of juniors Jenny Jansen, Kaylee Anderson, Emma Tinnin; sophomores Destinee Frost, Kelsey Huenefeld, Amanda Vehlewald and Jordan Rugh; and freshman Hope Roetemeyer.“We are all sisters,” Meyers said. “We come together as one group.”Second state title in reachJunior second baseman Kaylee Anderson has a chance to add a second state title to her household.Back in 2003 her father, Tony, was an assistant coach for Timberland that won the Class 3 state championship in just its second year of varsity competition. The Wolves were coached by Scott Harris, a Wright City graduate who is now the activities director at Francis Howell Central.The younger Anderson doesn’t remember much since she was either 3 or 4 at the time. But her dad has provided some advice during Warrenton’s playoff run.“He says don’t take anything for granted and stay focused on what you are doing and have fun,” said Anderson, who is batting .442 with 43 runs and 19 RBIs.Blessing in disguiseThe Warriors have earned a lot of attention this season as the wins have piled up and rightfully so.They enter the state semifinals with a 26-2 record and have won 25 of their last 26 games. But a loss that snapped an 18-game winning streak might not have been bad after all.Warrenton fell 5-4 in 10 innings to Bowling Green on Sept. 28. The loss occurred in the final week of the regular season.“It was a wake-up call,” Hibbs said. “It is easy to win a game, another game, another game and get complacent. It might have been a blessing in disguise.”Bowling Green, the school where Hibbs coached at prior to coming to Warrenton, lost 3-0 to Portageville in the Class 2 quarterfinals Saturday.More numbersThe offense has carried Warrenton for the most part this season and it will likely take hits in clutch situations if a state championship can be won.In the 28 games played this season, the Warriors have reached double digits in runs in all but nine contests. They are averaging 10.8 runs per game.All of the starters are batting at least .338, led by Jansen whose average is a gaudy .595. Frost has the second-highest average at .500.Jansen also leads the squad in runs with 49 and is second in RBIs with 41, seven fewer than Frost.But as good as the offense has been, Warrenton’s hurlers have been dominant as well. Fifteen of the Warriors’ win have been shutouts.Nordwald has a 0.86 earned run average and has won 16 of her 17 decisions this season. In 97 2/3 innings, she has given up just 12 earned runs, while striking out 75 and walking 15.Jansen has an 8-1 record in seven starts, while Anderson has won both of her decisions on the mound.Lady Warriors