The Warrenton softball team finished 22-2 last season before reeling off another six straight wins to capture the Class 3 state championship.

Head Coach Trevor Hibbs loaded up his  team’s schedule this season to prepare for another run, and the Warriors enter postseason play at 21-1, so you could argue the team is better in 2016.

You couldn’t argue, however, that the team isn’t more prepared.

“It will give us confidence and we won’t be as nervous,” Hibbs said of last year’s championship run.

The Warriors earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 3, District 8 tournament, which they host this week.

Warrenton will play Fulton Thursday at 2 p.m., with Mexico or Hannibal waiting in the championship game Friday at 4:15 p.m.

Monday morning, Hibbs was watching film while deciding who to start Thursday.

Senior Kaylee Anderson is the ace of the pitching staff, and leads the team with 85 innings and a 13-0 record.

Fellow senior and shortstop-turned pitcher Jenny Jansen isn’t far behind, with an 8-1 record and 0.17 earned-run average.

“There is always the possibility that we throw Jenny Thursday,” Hibbs said. “And that’s fine because they’re both really good pitchers.”

Coming into the season, Hibbs worried about his offense.

The Warriors lost a good chunk of last year’s lineup, and Hibbs wasn’t always sure where the offense would come from this year.

Most of the time, however, that hasn’t mattered.

Anderson and Jansen have combined to give up eight earned runs in 126 innings, and Warrenton posted 11 shutouts in the regular season.

“During the season, especially playing four games in a row like we did recently, it wears on a pitcher to throw that much,” Hibbs said of Anderson’s workload. “It helps a lot to have Jenny there to help out. She doesn’t really want to pitch, but she does it to help us. I asked her to help out a few years ago and she just does whatever the team needs.”

Offensively, the duo has combined for 65 hits, 23 doubles, 11 home runs and 48 RBIs, surprising no one.

But Hibbs knew he would need a more balanced attack, which is where junior Amanda Vehlewald has come in.

Vehlewald is second on the team with a .491 batting average, and has 26 RBIs, five triples and  two home runs.

“She has always swung the bat well, she has just swung it a lot better this year,” Hibbs said. “She swung it well toward  the end of last year, too. She’s had a lot of clutch hits for us this year.”

Vehlewald, along with Destinee Frost, Breanna Schwerdt, Emma Tinnin and Kelsey Huenefeld, will be expected to help carry the offense in October while Hope Roetemeyer continues to lead the defense behind the plate.

Hibbs hasn’t looked past Thursday, however.

“We just take it one pitch at a time and one game at a time,” he said.