Despite major losses from last year’s state championship team, Warrenton softball Head Coach Trevor Hibbs was confident his 2017 team could challenge for another Gateway Athletic Conference North title and go on a deep postseason run.

Taking care of the conference was the Warriors’ first goal, and last week’s 10-6 win over Winfield clinched Warrenton’s fifth-straight GAC North title.

Hibbs believes a tough non-conference schedule prepared his team for its conference slate.

“It’s pretty cool,” Hibbs said. “People were counting us out this year, and our schedule is tough. We’re not playing any small schools. All the schools we’ve played are very competitive programs. We had Hickman, Cape Notre Dame, Bowling Green, teams like that.”

The Warriors opened the season with five losses in their first six games, which included losses to Timberland, Francis Howell Central, Cape Notre Dame and Hickman.

Conference play began Aug. 31, and the Warriors got on the right track with an 18-5 win over St. Charles West.

They won nine of their next 13, including a 7-0 mark in conference.

And with Tuesday’s win at Orchard Farm, they completed an undefeated conference record for the fifth straight year.

The last loss came against Winfield Sept. 17, 2012.

“There are a lot of good players on this team, and they have a lot of fight in them,” Hibbs said. 

The Warriors are led by seniors Destinee Frost, Kelsey Huenefeld, Jordan Rugh and Amanda Vehlewald.

The quartet started on last year’s state championship team, and Hibbs credits their leadership for bringing along a number of underclassmen this season.

Especially Frost, who leads the team in batting average (.563), RBIs (39) and home runs (11).

On the mound, she has a team-best eight wins, 2.04 earned-run average and 48 strikeouts.

“She’s always been this good,” Hibbs said. “I think she had 51 RBIs when we won state the first time, and she’s just a true team player. She’s going to do anything she can to help this team win. She’s been an outstanding leader as far as helping some of these younger players develop their game.”

Junior catcher Hope Roetemeyer has helped on offense and defense this season, hitting .333 with 13 RBIs while collecting 11 assists behind the plate.

Vehlewald has logged 25 innings on the mound with nine strikeouts, but has made the biggest impact with her bat.

The senior is hitting .443 with 27 RBIs and three home runs.

“Amanda and Hope always seem to come up with those clutch, two-out hits when we need it,” Hibbs said. “Hope has really hit the ball well this year, and she’s done a good job of throwing girls out on the bases. She does a great job of managing the runners, and I’ve seen great improvement out of her the last three years.”

Freshman Avery Tucker — who was in fourth grade the last time Warrenton lost a conference game — has surprised fans at the plate with a .386 average.

She has five doubles and six RBIs on the season, and has helped balance out the Warrenton lineup late in the season.

“She’s done a good job,” Hibbs said. “She’s hitting the ball well, and the more tough outs we can have in the lineup, the better chance we’ll have of putting up a lot of runs.”

The Warriors finish the regular season against Battle and Francis Howell Central before heading into the district tournament Wednesday at Hannibal.

But for now, Hibbs is able to reflect on his fifth conference title in seven years with the program.

“A lot of times in life, it comes down to how bad you want something,” he said. “These girls wanted this, and they went and got it.”