The Warrenton softball team did something last year’s eventual state champions couldn’t.

The Warriors left the Troy Leadoff Classic with hardware.

Warrenton bounced back from a walk-off extra innings loss to Bowling Green to beat Columbia Hickman in the third-place game Saturday, 3-2.

“We were really emotional after the Bowling Green game,” Head Coach Trevor Hibbs said. “We didn’t have a really good start to the Hickman game, so it definitely could have been worse.”

Hibbs was forced to find a stand-in catcher while Hope Roetemeyer recovers from an injury.

Sophomore Breanna Schwerdt filled in throughout the weekend, while senior Jenny Jansen tried her hand behind the plate for the first time.

“We had to try and figure out the catcher’s spot for four games, and Breanna and Jenny did nice jobs,” Hibbs said. “It’s nice when kids like that will do whatever is best for the team.”

Jansen led the Warriors with seven hits, three doubles and two home runs throughout the tournament.

Senior Kaylee Anderson started three games, finishing with 17 innings of work and 14 strikeouts while posting a 1.24 earned-run average.

Jansen pitched seven innings against Bowling Green without giving up an earned-run.

“Pitching-wise, it’s pretty much going to be those two,” Hibbs said. “We’d like to keep Kaylee out there as much as we can. Jenny will pitch as much as we need her to, but we’d prefer Kaylee on the mound and Jenny at short.”

Despite being the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Warriors were given no favors by the tournament organizers, who slotted             Bowling Green in the same side of the bracket.

“They’re up there,” Hibbs said when asked how the Bobcats stack up with the better teams on the schedule. “They should be able to make a fun to the final four if they stay healthy.”

Hibbs said his players were overly emotional after the loss, and he believes it carried over to the third-place game against Hickmann 30 minutes later.

Hickmann scored two runs in the bottom of the first before the Warriors chipped away at the lead, eventually taking a decisive 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth.

“We didn’t have a really good start to the Hickmann game, so it definitely could have been worse,” Hibbs said. “I probably should have started someone else at catcher because Breanna was really tired.”

Overall, Hibbs said he was “tickled” to leave Troy with a trophy for the first time in three tries.

He said the upswing in competition is something that will only help his younger players prepare for another postseason run.

The tougher schedule, he said, was a concerted effort this year.

The Warriors host Class 3 runner-up Cape Notre Dame Monday.

Before that, they head to Union Thursday to face starter pitcher Lauren Boyd, who is known for her arm.

“We’ll have to get out there and meet those pitches,” Hibbs said. “We don’t see too many girls that throw 60, let alone 64. We’re going to have to get the pitching machine out and crank it up Wednesday and try and get used to that.”