DUBOIS — The 12-day layoff didn’t matter. Neither did losses in its last two games.

Karns City’s softball team showed up at Heindl Field Monday morning ready to play — and dispatched six-time defending champion Punxsutawney, 11-3, to capture the District 9 Class 3A championship.

“I had all of the nerves today. The girls had none of them,” KC coach Mike Stitt said. “They were loose the entire bus ride up there, singing songs ... This was a great day for them.”

The Gremlins (14-3) won their first district title since 2009. They scored 10 runs in the first three innings, including a five-run second keyed by Jess Dunn’s three-run double.

“That was the hit that stands out, the one that broke it open,” Stitt said. “But this was a total team win today. We hit the ball well up and down the lineup.”

Karns City had 12 hits in the contest. Stitt changed up the batting order somewhat, moving Rossi McMillen to the No. 3 spot, Dunn to the fifth spot and Sara Patton to No. 7 in the lineup.

“Sometimes you have to shake the tree to get a new apple to fall,” Stitt said. “It worked out for us.”

Marra Patton pitched a complete game for the win, striking out two and scattering seven hits. Brooke Young hit a solo home run for Punxsutawney, the Chucks ending their season at 9-11.

Patton, the KSAC MVP this season, has a 2.62 earned run average in the circle and is hitting .522 at the plate as the Gremlins’ cleanup hitter.

“They intentionally walked Marra to load the bases before Jess hit that double,” Stitt said. “Marra has great control of her pitches. She’s been consistent for us all season.”

Ashley Fox had a pair of doubles for KC while McMillen and Ally Walker had two singles each. Losing pitcher Ciara Toven had a pair of singles for Punxsutawney.

Karns City will move on to face the District 10 runner-up in the PIAA Class 3A state tourney next Monday.

Punxsutawney1100001 — 372

Karns City 352010x — 11121

W: Marra Patton 7IP (2K, 1BB). L: Ciara Toven 6IP (2K, 3BB)

Punxsutawney (9-11): Ciara Toven 2-1B RBI, Brooke Young HR, Brynn Hergert 1B, Emily Dobbins 1B, Kaylee Guidice 1B, Brooke Skarbek 1B

Karns City (14-3): Ashley Fox 2-2B 2-RBI 2-R, Zoe King 1B 2-RBI 2-R, Rossi McMillen 2-1B 2-R, Marra Patton 1B, Jess Dunn 2B 3-RBI, Megan Whitmire 1B 2-RBI, Sara Patton 1B, Ally Walker 2-1B, Jada Polczynski 1B 2-R

Monday: Karns City in PIAA 3A playoffs, site, time and opponent TBD

Baseball

Slippery Rock (17-6) got off to a three-run lead early, but could not sustain the momentum in dropping an 11-7 District 10 Class 4A championship game decision to Cathedral Prep at Mercyhurst University.

“These kids had a great, great year,” Slippery Rock coach Derrick Wood said. “We knew today would be a challenge. Cathedral Prep is a physically and mentally strong team. They walk the walk. They let their play do the talking.”

The Rockets picked up RBI from Brody Galcik, Ryan Montgomery, Lucas Allison and Shane Montgomery during a four-run second inning, taking a 4-1 lead. But the Ramblers (21-2) responded with a five-run third inning and never trailed again.

Still, Slippery Rock hung tough. A double by Brett Galcik and triple by Sal Mineo in the fifth inning helped the Rockets pull within 8-6, but Cathedral Prep put together another big inning to pull away. The Ramblers won their second consecutive District 10 title and 22nd in program history.

Mineo, a sophomore, had two triples, a single and scored three runs for the Rockets. Allison had a double and RBI, Ethan Druschel a single and two RBI. Slippery Rock forced standout freshman Rambler pitcher Jason Fultz from the game in the second inning.

“We manufactured some runs with bunts and situational hitting,” Wood said. “I was pleased with the way we played today. We knew we’d have to battle for all seven innings and we did that.”