The GAC North conference championship game was set on May 13, and for five innings, Warrenton and Orchard Farm held each other scoreless. 

Until the sixth inning. 

“After the fifth inning, we said we just need to loosen up and start having some fun,” Austin Haas said. 

With Haas on first base in the bottom of the sixth after getting hit by a pitch, his presence gave the team confidence. 

“I told myself if I have to get up there and get gritty, then that’s what I’ll do,” Haas said. “When I saw the curveball coming at me, I thought yep, this is exactly what I had planned for.” 

Then, Colin DiSilvester approached the plate. 

“I saw one of our fastest dudes (Haas) was on first base,” DiSilvester said. 

The first pitch — a ball. 

DiSilvester waited. 

The second pitch — a strike. He remained patient. 

The third pitch – another strike. Still, he was calm. 

Sitting on two strikes, DiSilvester wasn’t worried. He just kept waiting for his pitch. 

As the Orchard Farm pitcher delivered a fastball, DiSilvester swung. The ball rocketed down the center field, sending Haas racing around the bases for the first score. DiSilvester slid into third with a game-changing triple. 

“I was trying to have a shorter swing and not kill the ball,” DiSilvester said. “I’ve been struggling a little bit with hitting, so it felt good to get back in it. I haven’t run all three bases in a bit so it was pretty tiring.”

The Warriors never looked back. With DiSilvester’s triple opening the floodgates, Warrenton poured in 10 runs, clinching their second consecutive conference title in a decisive mercy-ruled win over Orchard Farm.

“I think as soon as I got on and (DiSilvester) hit me in, you could see their demeanor start to change,” Haas said. “It was a great game from there.” 

“(Haas) getting on to start the inning really helped and it was a big momentum shift because we hadn’t had many base runners,” Carter Martin added. “As soon as he got on base, we knew we were going to have a big inning.” 

Coach Eric Burle noted the team didn’t make any adjustments. Instead, they simply remained patient. 

“It was just a matter of staying patient because we were through the (batting) order two or three times and all the guys had seen the pitcher,” Burle said. “We loosened up at the right time and were able to feed off of each other.” 

Mason Thompson ended the game with a grounder to left field to send Keaton Young home for  the 10th and final run. 

While the sixth inning took the spotlight, Warrenton’s success began on the mound and behind the plate. Martin dominated, striking out 13 batters and allowing only two hits. 

“The fact that (Martin) was able to throw a lot of strikes, fill up the zone and keep guys off the bases is pretty huge,” Burle said. “And (Haas) has just been the heart and soul of the team.” 

Martin noted his secondary pitch and slider proved to be key for his performance on the mound. 

“They couldn’t touch that,” Martin said. 

After Warrenton’s 10-0 win, they went on to beat the Eagles again – this time for a score of 6-4. 

After the game, the team chose to celebrate in typical Warrenton fashion with a water jug dumping. Only, this time it was not a player who got drenched. 

“(DiSilvester) asked me if I had my swimming trunks on, so it was all in good fun,” Burle joked. 

The conference title carried extra weight for the Warriors, especially after losing five core seniors from last season and dropping their first and only conference game 7-0 to St. Charles West earlier this year. 

“We did lose five guys that have started since their freshman year and that had a huge impact on the team,” Burle said. “But it says a lot about the returning guys like (Haas), (Martin), (DiSilvester) and (Thompson) and those types of guys that really stepped up and helped fill in those voids.” 

The early loss was a bit of a wake up call, according to Burle. 

“That game could have cast some doubt but it didn’t seem to and we were able to come back that next day and win against St. Charles West against one of the better pitchers in our conference,” he said. “I think that says a lot about this group and their grit.” 

With a conference title in hand, Warrenton has turned its attention to district play. As the no. 3 seed, the Warriors will play sixth-seeded Fort Zumwalt South on May 22 at 1 p.m. at St. Dominic High School. 

“(Fort Zumwalt South) ended our season last year, so hopefully we can return the favor against them this year,” Burle said. 

Martin hopes that the team’s recent success will roll into the postseason. 

“We have tons of momentum and if we come out and play like we did in that sixth inning, we can beat anybody,” Martin said. 

Burle added he will be looking towards the upperclassmen to provide leadership. 

“I think the guys know they can definitely compete against any team in our district. That being said, I think they know any team in our district could beat us too, so they have to have that mentality.”