STRATTANVILLE — One thing the Moniteau baseball team could not afford happened in the top of the fourth inning.

Cranberry sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs, taking the lead for good in a 7-3 victory in Wednesday’s District 9 Class AA title game at Clarion-Limestone High School.

Tyler Gustafson opened the frame with a double to deep left off of Moniteau starter Derek Boben. Courtesy runner Andrew Gunn moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Nolan Brannon’s sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. But the Berries were just getting started.

A throwing error and consecutive walks loaded the bases before Austin Rex and Dylan Cyphert delivered back-to-back RBI-singles. One more run was added when Evan Lutz came home on Brendan Zerbe’s flyout, pushing the score to 4-1.

Boben did not survive the inning. The junior was pulled in favor of Aaron Marterella with one out and his team trailing 3-1. Boben had pitched three scoreless innings to start the game, stranding five baserunners in the process.

“Derek worked hard,” said Moniteau coach Ross Martin. “He definitely wasn’t as solid as he can be and he’d be the first to admit that. But he battled like he always does.”

Cranberry’s offense tallied nine hits on the day.

“Our offense has been inconsistent this year,” said Cranberry coach Patrick Irwin, “but we hit the ball well today. It’s a good time to be clicking.”

The Warriors knew a big inning by the Berries would greatly diminish their chances with Cranberry ace Cyphert on the mound.

“We focused on hitting his fastball,” said Marterella, who tallied one of the Warriors’ two hits on the day. “He’s deadly when you get behind in the count and we tried not to get into curveball counts. We just tried to put the ball in play and get on base because we have a lot of plays set up to move runners.”

That ability, along with some poor play in the field by the Berries, helped the Warriors score three runs on just one hit through the first six innings, cutting Cranberry’s lead to 5-3.

But the Berries posted two big runs in the top of the seventh, aided by Moniteau’s third and final error of the game.

The Warriors loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Josh McBride reached on an error, Marterella singled and Boben walked. But Cyphert got Jake McBride to ground out the end the game.

Cyphert struck out 12 and walked four in leading his team to the state playoffs. All three of Moniteau’s runs were unearned as the Berries committed six errors.

“I thought we were disciplined at the plate for the most part,” said Martin, “but we just didn’t get the big hits when we needed them.”

Moniteau managed an unearned run in the bottom of the first. Cyphert walked few batters during the season — 10 free passes in 37 innings entering Wednesday’s game — but he walked Marterella and Boben with one out.

Jake McBride then hit into a fielder’s choice and in an attempt to complete the double play, the Berries threw the ball away, allowing Marterella to score the game’s first run.

The early trouble did not concern Irwin.

“This team trusts Dylan,” he said. “Win or lose, we were staying with him.”

The Warriors end the campaign with a record of 15-3.

“It was an excellent season with a great group of kids,” said Martin. “It was fun to be part of and I’m proud of every one of those guys.”

Cranberry 000 401 2 — 7 9 6

Moniteau 100 002 0 — 3 2 3

W: Dylan Cyphert 7 IP (12K, 4BB). L: Derek Boben 3.1 IP (2K, 4BB).

Cranberry (14-4): Evan Lutz 1B 2R RBI, Austin Rex 2-1B RBI, Dylan Cyphert 1B 2B RBI, Brendan Zerbe RBI, Mike Drzewiecki 1B R, Tyler Gustafson 1B 2B, Nolan Brannon 1B R RBI, Kyle Meehan R, Jacob Creighton R, Andrew Gunn R

Moniteau (15-3): Josh McBride R, Aaron Marterella 1B 2R, Zach Jewart 1B