By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorThe hot-hitting Warrenton softball team caught the attention of its opponents throughout the season.The Warriors made the whole state take notice in a dominating display of power in the Class 3 state championship game Saturday at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.They crushed four home runs and cruised to their first state title in the school’s history in a 12-2 beating of Cape Girardeau Notre Dame that ended in six innings by the 10-run rule.“It’s so great to know we’re better than everyone else and we’re state champs,” senior catcher Abby Meyers said.Warrenton finished with a program-best 28-2 record, ending the year on a nine-game winning streak.“All of our hard work has paid off and to be the champs means the world to us,” junior second baseman Kaylee Anderson said.Four of the Warriors’ 14 hits cleared the fence. Sophomore center fielder Kelsey Huenefeld started the barrage with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning and senior left fielder Erica Rugh followed by crushing a grand slam on a 3-2 count later in the frame.Anderson and sophomore Destinee Frost added long balls in the fifth inning as Warrenton broke the game open.The homer from Rugh was her first of the year.“There are not words to describe how I feel,” said Rugh, who went 2-3 with five RBIs and two runs. “I just said to myself, ‘You better hit this, you better get a hit.’ This was a great game to have it.”Overall, the Warriors had 14 hits, led by senior pitcher Taylor Nordwald who went 3-for-4 at the plate. Four other players — Amanda LaFaver, Huenefeld, Frost and Rugh — had two hits apiece.Nordwald once again was superb on the mound. The right-hander scattered six hits over six innings, while striking out two and walking three.Her only mistake led to a two-run home run by Notre Dame's Lily Dohogne in the top of the third inning. The blast cut Warrenton's lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth.Nordwald ran into trouble in the fifth. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out, but she battled back to retire Madeline Urhahn, who was caught looking at a called third strike on a 3-2 offering. Rugh then caught a fly ball in foul territory to end the threat.Nordwald stranded nine base runners in the game."I was not walking that run in," Nordwald said. "I knew I had to make a difference. I knoew I had to make a pitch there."The Warriors responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Huenefeld led off with a double down the third base line and Anderson smashed her second homer in as many days.Two batters later, Frost crushed a solo blast to right-center and Meyers added a run-scoring hit in the frame.The following inning, Warrenton ended the game as Frost, Rugh and Nordwald each drove in a run."It's a dream come true," Nordwald said. "We've dreamed about this. That is one of coach's sayings. He says, 'Dream about it,' and our dream has come true."All season Warrenton had its eyes set on hoisting the state championship trophy. On Saturday, the Warriors did just that."This is such a great feeling," Jansen said. "We have been working for this all season and to see it finally happen is the best feeling you can ever have."Class 3 state championship trophy