Demons celebrate season with banquet

WASHINGTON - All they wanted was a chance, just a chance, and they took advantage of it.

The Washington High School softball team had not been to a regional final since 2013. Thus they had not had a shot at the state tournament.

The 2013 team had a record of 31-12. This year's team had a late start due to the coronavirus but entering postseason play, the Demons had a record of 8-17. However, when the postseason starts every team is 0-0.

The Demons took advantage of that and went 2-0 to get that regional final where they had the tying run at the plate in the fifth inning before falling to West Delaware. West Delaware lost to the eventual state champion Winterset team.

'We accomplished a major goal set forth by our seniors, in getting to a regional final, to give us a shot at state,” Washington head coach Ben Obermann said. 'Our commitment to the process and being extremely faithful to the little things led to us having that opportunity.”

Those seniors, Kaitlyn Mitchell, Alexa Mitchell, Kinsey Duwa and Halle Leyden and the rest of the team celebrated the season with a banquet Aug. 2.

'At the banquet, we talked a lot about the resiliency displayed by our girls and how proud we were of how we finished the season playing our best softball,” Obermann said. 'I just am proud of our no-quit attitude and how our girls were the same whether we were up 10 or down 10.”

Team awards were bestowed at the banquet.

Kaitlyn Mitchell was named the team's most valuable player. She was also the offensive player of the year.

She took over the leadoff spot in the Demon batting order and responded by hitting at a .376 clip, and her on-base percentage (crucial in the leadoff spot) was .518, fifth in the Southeast Conference. Mitchell was selective in the batter's box, placing third in free passes with 21. Her 48 total bases were second in the conference. Her three home runs tied for fourth.

The defensive player of the year award went to Kinsey Duwa.

She had a lot of ground to cover as a center fielder and she did it well. Duwa then had a strong, accurate arm to throw for an out. She was 30th in Class 4A in stolen bases.

The most improved award went to Leyden. Leyden patrolled left field and batted .254 with an on-base percentage of .354.

The competitor award went to Cara Linnenkamp, who became the Demons No. 1 in the circle this year. Linnenkamp connected in the batter's box at the rate of .349 and her on base percentage was .455. She had five doubles and led the Demons in runs batted in at 26, which was third best in the SEC. She finished with 65 strikeouts, third in the SEC. In the playoff opener, she got strikeout for the last out of the game. In the second-round win, her strikeout for the second out with two on in the bottom of the seventh was vital to the win.

Kellie Dallmeyer won the extra inning award. Dallmeyer has been an anchor for the Demons and led the team in batting average at .396.

The rookie of the year went to Emmy Wenger, who was thrown into varsity action to pitch. She had the most innings pitched after Linnenkamp and struck out 17 with seven walks.

There were two recipients of the coaches award. Alexa Mitchell and Anna Venenga claimed that honor. Mitchell left the circle this season and became a steady influence in right field. Mitchell had a knack for getting a jump on the ball as it left the bat. She twice made running over-the-shoulder catches in the first Demons postseason game that led to victory. Mitchell batted .256 with a .354 on-base percentage. She was third on the Demons in RBIs with 17.

Venenga was the utility player for the Demons. She was fourth on the team in batting average at .388 She led the Demons in doubles with seven and had a home run.

'They earned every bit of success we were able to experience in postseason play,” Obermann said. 'From our JV team to our varsity team, it was a fun group of girls to be around, and we're extremely grateful we had the opportunity to play this season.”