STRATTANVILLE — This one was different.

And not just because it was the last one for the eight Moniteau softball seniors.

It was different because it was cap on a four-year run of district dominance for the Warriors.

Four years. Four District 9 titles — the latest a 9-0 win over Cranberry Thursday in a 2A game at Clarion-Limestone High School.

“It means a lot because we did it four years in a row,” said senior first-baseman Sara Hull. “When we were freshmen, it was all talk: 'You guys have to do this and you guys have to do that.' Now that we've finally done it, we have another thing we want to get done.”

Said senior centerfield Gabby Stewart: “This one means it's the end of a chapter and a start of a new one.”

What Moniteau wants to get done and what it wants to write in that last chapter is “state champions.”

The Warriors came painfully close last season only to fall short in the state title game.

The biggest lesson they learned? Keep the blinders on.

“We just have to focus on the challenge at hand and not the challenge ahead,” Stewart said. “That's what we didn't do last year and it psyched us out.”

This District 9 title didn't come easily.

Moniteau led feisty Cranberry 1-0 after four innings and 3-0 after five — with only one of the runs earned — when distant rumbles of thunder halted play for 45 minutes.

When the game resumed, Moniteau put up six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“I think we just tried to press. Even I did. I pressed a little,” said Moniteau coach Lennie Claypoole. “Once we sat back and did our thing, we were OK.

“I think it was just a little nerves, you know. Just nerves.”

It was also the pitching of Cranberry junior Natalie Brecinas, who kept the Warriors off-balance for most of the game.

She did the same thing in the title game last season against Moniteau.

But after the delay, Brecinas lost command, walking one, hitting two batters and giving up a two-run single to Kennedy DeMatteis and RBI singles to Cortney Claypoole, Hull and Dolcey Shunk.

Another run scored on a wild pitch.

“As soon as we settled down after the rain delay — we talked in the dugout,” Lennie Claypoole said. “We lit it up.”

So did DeMatteis in the circle.

The senior pitcher was dominant, striking out 11 and giving up just one hit — a first inning single to Jenna Huegel. She retired the last 20 batters she faced.

“Kennedy pitched lights out,” Lennie Claypoole said. “She was brilliant, mowing them down. She spins it. Her rise was working. Her drop. Her curve is moving like crazy.”

DeMatteis said she can throw seven different pitches — some at varying speeds.

It makes it an almost impossible guessing game for the hitter.

Add in her excellent fastball velocity and DeMatteis understandably has been a nightmare to hit against for four seasons.

Even if she's her harshest critic.

“My changeup wasn't working today,” she said. “Not at all. I was hitting corners well, though.

“I also have some offspeed curves that I used to be able to throw well, but not so much now. I was a lot better last year at them. I don't know. I don't know if (my curveball) is moving that well, it's just good placement.”

Moniteau will take it.

As good as DeMatteis has been, the offense hasn't had to bludgeon the opponent.It has anyway.The Warriors (21-0) have outscored their opponents 248-12 this season.“I think our offense is going to come through all the time,” DeMatteis said. “I don't think in four years we've ever been shut out. If we can score three runs, we should win.”Even to DeMatteis, whose twin sister Kristina is her catcher and just so happens to have 10 home runs this season, this win meant something a little extra.“I think it means more,” she said. “I think it is more important than the first couple because you don't know what it means in the beginning.”What this one means now is Moniteau can get down to the business it has been building toward all season.Another run at a state title.“This is what we've been working for all year, to get here and to get this one under our belts,” Lennie Claypoole said. “Without saying it, we just wanted to get this over with. It's definitely a relief.”Now it's crunch time for the Warriors and the eight seniors.“This is our last run,” Hull said. “We know we have to get it done.”Moniteau's seniors have helped generate 85 wins in 90 games over the past four years to go with their district championships.Cranberry 000 000 0 — 0 1 1Moniteau 000 126 x — 9 9 0W: Kennedy DeMatteis 7IP (11K, 0BB). L: Natalie Brecinas 6IP (1K, 2BB).Cranberry (17-3): Jenna Huegel 1BMoniteau (21-0): Gabby Stewart 1B 2-R, Cortney Claypoole 2-1B 2-RBI, Kennedy DeMatteis 2B 1B 2-RBI, Kristina DeMatteis 1B 2-R, Sara Hull 2-1B 2-RBI, Alyssa Dailey 2-R, Dolcey Shunk 1B RBIMonday: First round of PIAA 2A playoffs, TBD