DUBOIS — Moniteau arrived at the PIAA baseball playoffs as District 9 champion thanks to erasing a 4-0 deficit against Coudersport last week.

There would be no such comeback for the Warriors Monday afternoon.

Moniteau spotted Serra Catholic a 6-0 edge in a Class AA first-round affair at Showers Field. Again, the Warriors rallied, but this time fell short in a season-ending 6-3 loss.

“We had a chance to just fold and lose by a shutout,” said Moniteau senior catcher Jared Lominski. “But we had life and believed until the final out that we were going to win.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Either way, you have to keep your head up.”

The Warriors entered their last at-bat trailing the Eagles 6-1, but pushed relief pitcher Logan Exler from the mound.

After one out, he allowed consecutive singles to Lee DeMatteis and Hunter Fitzingo. They both scored on Gage Neal's two-out triple.

Lominski drew a walk and Exler was pulled in favor of Pat Brennan, who needed but one pitch to get Tyler McFadden to fly out to douse the rally.

The Eagles (21-3) jumped out to an early lead, scoring a pair of runs in both the first and second inning against Fitzingo.

Brennan drove in the first run with a triple and later scored on a fielder's choice.

In the second, an error allowed one run to score and Jaydan Mertz came home on a fielder's choice. Two sacrifice bunts helped Serra to its 4-0 lead.

“We played small-ball well today,” said Eagles' coach Brian Dzurenda. “We knew we'd be facing (Fitzingo) and he throws hard. We spent the last couple of days working on shortening up our swings.”

Through three innings, the Warriors still were hitless against Serra starter Alex Glumac. Serra catcher Mark Black then made matters worse for Moniteau when he smacked a two-run home run in the top of the fourth.

Black is Serra's leadoff hitter, an unusual spot for a catcher.

“Nobody wants to pitch to him,” said Dzurenda. “In our four WPIAL playoff games, he had a total of just four at-bats and two of them ended in home runs. I've been coaching baseball for a long time and can tell you, he's just a different animal.”

The Warriors (17-6) had a chance for a big inning in their half of the fourth.

Glumac struggled to find the strike zone, walking Lominski and Tanner Williams and allowing Moniteau's first hit of the game, a single by McFadden. With the bases loaded and only one out, Exler was brought in and did a fine job of damage control.

Nathan Tack's groundout scored the Warriors' first run, but Exler got Lee DeMatteis to strike out and the Eagles entered the fifth with a 6-1 advantage.

Exler blanked Moniteau over the next two innings before the Warriors rallied in the seventh.

“He was a little tough to read,” Lominski said of Exler, a junior left-hander. “He hid the pitch until the last second and we had to adjust to that.”

Fitzingo worked a complete game in defeat, allowing the six runs on five hits.

The Warriors won their second straight district title this season and their third crown in four years.

“The scoreboard says we lost, 6-3, but we're still winners,” said Lominski. “Nobody thought we'd get this far.”

Serra Catholic 220 200 0 — 6 5 2

Moniteau 000 100 2 — 3 5 1

W: Logan Exler 3.1 IP (5K, 1BB). L: Hunter Fitzingo 7 IP (4K, 2BB).

Serra Catholic (21-3): Mark Black HR 2RBI, Pat Brennan 3B R RBI, Nico Eremic 1B RBI, Eli Kite 1B R, Zac Miklos 1B R

Moniteau (17-6): Hunter Fitzingo 1B R, Gage Neal 3B 2RBI, Tyler McFadden 1B, Mason Mershimer 1B, Lee DeMatteis 1B R