Ben Peth knows what a near miss feels like – and he and his teammates wanted to make sure they didn’t have that feeling again on a high school baseball diamond this season.

One game was all that stood between the Warrenton baseball team and the GAC North Division championship during the pitcher/outfielder’s junior year.

That won’t be the case in his final year of high school ball as Peth and Warrenton (19-3) were a perfect 10-0 in conference games this year, finishing atop the North by some three games after capping conference play with wins over second place St. Charles West April 24-25.

“I think winning the GAC North was something that we all had our minds on since last year, and we knew coming into this season that if we worked hard, we had a very good chance at it,” Peth said. “We knew we had the talent in our dugout and all we had to do was come together and play hard and the results would come.”

Fellow senior Austin Haas echoed Peth’s thoughts about the team accomplishing its collective mission, as far as in-season play goes.

“It's an amazing accomplishment and even a huge relief to finally win conference,” Haas said. “(It’s) something we have been so close to since my freshman year. It took a great team effort; it took every guy on the roster to get the job done. I'm glad to be able to finally take care of business.”

Warriors coach Eric Burle added that the finish, which included a 3-0 win on April 24 over West pitcher Division I prospect Brenan Goering, meant a lot because the coach knows what it’s like to fall just short of conference perfection.

That’s what happened when Warrenton won a North won the title in 2018.

“I think it does make things more special,” Burle said. “We went into our final game with Winfield and it wound up being a tough game.  Being able to finish it out this year really mans a lot for the hard work the guys put in and their ability to finish it out. Going 10-0 and leaving no doubt just means more. Ben threw well to lock up the game at West going against Goering, who is a Mizzou commit.”

Burle added that seeing the current crop of seniors excel after watching teams finish near .500 or far below is a great testament to their work.

He points to having players like senior infielder/pitcher Troy Anderson and senior outfielder/pitcher Joe Goldsmith, amongst others, are key cogs in the team’s juggernaut of an offense which is pounding out nine runs per game while a stout defense allows just 4.2.

“I think it’s a testament to this group of seniors five have started as freshmen and have seen whole gamut,” Burle said. “They have put themselves in position (to succeed) and have played good baseball in all facets. Carter has given us depth and Troy and Joe have been huge.”

The title is the 11th district championship in program history. Previously, Warrenton won titles in 1952, 1961, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2015, 2018, and 2019.

Burle said that the team will work hard to be at its best once the postseason arrives. That will be vital, considering such teams as Fort Zumwalt South and St. Dominic, among others, reside in the district, which is slated to be played at Fort Zumwalt East.

“When they went from five to six classes, (things got tougher),” Burle said. “Five classes was perfect because we faced similar size (schools). Six classes (means we have a) fairly tough district. We’ll fine tune things and we have two weeks to do it.”

Peth added that the Warriors, to a player, will be ready for whatever comes the team’s way.

“As far as districts, all this (title) did was bring more confidence into our dugout, knowing we are capable of winning tough games,” Peth said. “Our team knows that we can't get ahead of ourselves and that we have to put our heads down and work to win district games. Districts is the start of a whole new season; records don't matter anymore. So really, the goal is to stay focused on what's next.”