STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (D9Sports) — The Karns City and Moniteau softball teams are set to begin PIAA action Monday with both teams playing at the Clarion-Limestone Sports Complex.

(Photo: Karns City came from behind to win the District 5/9 Class 3A title. Photo courtesy of Karns City Lady Gremlins)

The upstart Karns City Lady Gremlins will take on WPIAL runner-up Deer Lakes at 2 p.m. in the Class 3A bracket, while Moniteau, looking for a return trip to the PIAA 2A title game, faces WPIAL fourth-place finisher Carmichaels at 4 p.m.

Here are capsule looks at both game.s

9-1 Moniteau (21-0) vs. (7-4) Chartiers-Houston (16-4)
Where and when: 4 p.m. at the Clarion-Limestone Sports Complex
How they got here: Moniteau beat Redbank Valley, 10-0 in five innings, in the District 9 semifinals and then topped Cranberry, 9-0, in the title game. Chartiers-Houston beat Brentwood 8-2 in the WPIAL first round and Mohawk, 7-6 in nine innings in the quarterfinals, before falling to South Side Beaver, 10-0 in six innings, in the semifinals. The Buccaneers became the fourth-place finisher when South Side Beaver lost to Frazier, 2-0, in the WPIAL title game.
Notable: Moniteau won District 9 for the fourth straight year, becoming the first team since the early 1990s to win at least four straight D9 softball titles. The Lady Warriors advanced to the PIAA title game a year ago where they lost to Holy Redeemer, who moved up to Class 3A this year in the new six classification system and was eliminated in district play. It starts with senior pitcher Kennedy DeMatteis for Moniteau. DeMatteis is 21-0 with a 0.30 ERA. She has 167 strikeouts in 94 innings of work. Four regulars are hitting over .500 led by Cortney Claypoole at .618 and Marshall recruit Gabby Stewart at .575. Kristina DeMatteis, Kennedy’s twin sister, is hitting .522 with 11 home runs, and Kennedy DeMatteis is hitting .507.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (7-1) Frazier vs. (10-2) Lakeview game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

9-1 Karns City (10-5) vs. (7-2) Deek Lakes (15-2)
Where and when: 2 p.m. at the Clarion-Limestone Sports Complex
How they got here: Karns City scored four in the seventh to stun Chestnut Ridge, 5-3, in the District 5/9 title game. Deer Lakes beat Avonworth, 9-4, in the WPIAL quarterfinals and South Park, 7-4, in the semifinals before losing to Ellwood City, 10-0 in five innings in the title game.
Notable: Karns City is a young team with one senior, one junior and the rest freshman and sophomores. The Lady Gremlins five losses came against teams that went a combined 50-10, including twice to Moniteau, twice to Redbank Valley and once to Cranberry. They were, however, outscored 56-3, in those five contests. Deer Lakes’ only regular season loss was an 8-4 defeat to the hands of Burrell, April 10.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (6-1) Philipsburg-Osceola vs. (3-2) Pequea Valley game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

See all capsule previews involving District 9 softball teams at D9Sports.com.