Staff photo / Brian Yauger The Cardinal Mooney softball team celebrates with its district championship trophy after a 10-1 win over Champion in Leavittsburg.

LEAVITTSBURG — When Cardinal Mooney’s bats are going, the Cardinals are a tough team to top. With hot bats and freshman pitcher Alexis McKinstry striking out 15 batters, going against Mooney would be an uphill battle for any team.

The Cardinals proved that again Thursday, taking down Champion 10-1 to claim the program’s first district title since 2017.

“They’ve been top dogs for many years, and we thought we were going to come out here and have a real tough game, because they are really a good team,” Mooney coach Rich Stickel said. “But our bats came alive, and Lexi was on today, and when she’s on and our bats are going, we’re hard to beat.”

It was a big day all around for the Mooney freshmen, as Lily Sardich and Taylor Watts each recorded three hits. Sardich and McKinstry both finished with three RBIs.

Sophomore Giada DeSantis also had three RBIs, coming off a three-run home run in the fifth inning.

Despite the youth, the moment was never too big for the young Mooney team.

“You would worry about (the youth and inexperience), but a lot of these girls are all high-quality travel ball players, so they’ve been there and done that,” Stickel said. “Even though they’re young and they’re playing against seniors and stuff like that, it’s like they don’t care. They’re ready to compete, and that’s what they did. They played loose, and they competed.”

Getting to this stage and earning a district crown was the team’s main goal this season. Mooney (17-6) has been on the rise as a program this year, following up a pair of 6-10 seasons the last two years.

High-level freshman classes each of the last two years have helped in the Cardinals’ ascent, but an intense offseason program has been a real difference-maker as well.

“We had a good freshman class the year before,” Stickel said, “with (Grace) Rinaldi, DeSantis, (Angela) Bettura, (Kennedi) McVittie, and then, of course, we got this freshman class now, and here we are. … We worked at the offseason workouts, we had open gym all winter, we were at Athletix in the winter, we did weight lifting at our armory, going into the season practices and scrimmages, I mean, it’s a long process. It’s been a long, grueling year, but I mean, hey, the reward’s at the end.”

Champion’s season came to a close with a 19-6 mark.

Taylor Rouan led at the plate for Champion with two hits. Jonna Strock knocked home senior Haley Bungard for the Flashes’ lone run of the game.

“They hit the ball hard, and their pitcher, she had us, so can’t say much more than that,” Champion coach Cheryl Weaver said. “Hats off to them.”

The Flashes also have a young team expecting to continue competing. With just two seniors, Bungard and Maddison Sylvester, on the roster, Champion is beginning to look toward next season.

“I think that’s what some of the girls after the game were more upset over, knowing that (the seniors) will be gone, so they’ll be deeply missed,” Weaver said. “Now the girls’ summer ball, and we get ready for next year. That’s all you can do, is keep planning ahead.”

Mooney’s reward for beating Champion is facing off against another Mahoning Valley power in the regional semifinals: South Range. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Wednesday in Alliance.

“We have to pitch well and hit well again,” Stickel said. “It’ll be a battle. We’ll battle with them, but they’re an experienced team. They’ve been there, done that, just like Champion. Those are two of the top dogs in Division V. We knew we had to play one of them. Now it looks like we have to play both of them, so we’ll see what happens.”