They were experienced enough to know it wouldn’t be easy.

The Warrenton softball team replaced four starters off last year’s Class 3 championship team, and no one knew how this year would play out.

“I didn’t know how we were going to be,” Senior shortstop Jenny Jansen said after her team completed the journey again with a 3-0 win over Sullivan Saturday afternoon in the championship.

The team needed to replace a starting pitcher and catcher, among others, and loaded up the schedule before losing its third game of the season to Class 2 Bowling Green.

“Coming into the year, you lose good players from a team that was phenomenal,” Head Coach Trevor Hibbs said. “And if you told me we’d end up 27-1, I don’t think I would have taken the bet. And we upped the schedule, too. We saw better pitching this year, and I think that helped our hitters prepare for this.”

Having one of the best pitchers in the state didn’t hurt, either.

Kaylee Anderson finished the season with a 0.64 earned-run average and a 5.5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

The senior hurler gave up 11 earned-runs and nine extra base-hits in 121 innings, and ended the season with three consecutive shutouts.

Saturday against Sullivan, she struck out 10 and surrendered four hits.

“Our defense was amazing again today, and I think that’s what carried us our whole tournament,” she said. “We played great defense and scored a few runs here and there to help out.”

Anderson, who had become known for having one rough inning throughout the postseason, led off the championship game with a walk and stolen base. 

But she had also been known to regroup and run through lineups with ease.

She struck out five of six batters in the second and third innings, retiring Sullivan in order.

“Kaylee carries our team on her back,” Jansen said. “She’s either pitching or hitting, and she does both well.”

She was hitless Saturday, but got picked up by Breanna Schwerdt in the first inning.

Schwerdt drove in Destinee Frost on a single to give Warrenton a 3-0 lead.

“You never know who the hero is going to be,” Hibbs said.

The Warriors took the initial lead after drawing two walks and advancing on in infield error.

“It helped a lot to score in the first and get momentum for the rest of the game,” Anderson said.

In the fourth inning, it was catcher Hope Roetemeyer’s turn to flash leather.

After a base-hit and sacrifice fly sent Grace Glaser to third, Sullivan dropped a squeeze bunt in front of the plate.

Roetemeyer jumped on the ball and tagged a sliding Glaser for the second out.

Anderson caught a line-drive in the following at-bat to end the rally.

“I probably shouldn’t get nervous with our defense, but I do,” Hibbs admitted. “We’ve got a good defense, good pitching and it’s hard to put up runs on us. Kaylee will always say how much she loves her defense, and she’s a good defensive player, too.”

Anderson was dominant until the seventh inning, when consecutive singles and an error by second baseman Jordan Rugh put runners on second and third with one out.

The team met on the mound and Anderson ended the game with two strikeouts.

“I’m just excited to be a part of it because back-to-back state titles is pretty rare,” she said. “We were confident we could get back to state, but we didn’t know.”

Warrenton finished the season 27-1.

“Winning the title for the second year in a row was a goal of mine since last year,” Jansen said. “When we won last year, I knew I wanted to defend our title. I always wanted it to happen, but I honestly didn’t think it would. Winning one isn’t something most people get to experience, let alone two.”

After the game, it took Hibbs a moment to put the last 14 months into perspective.

“I knew it would depend on the bottom part of our lineup and how our defense came around, and our defense was almost as good, if not better, this year,” he said. “They had to make sure last year’s championship plaque had a partner and wouldn’t be lonely.”