Demon baseball held to split

After cruising through the first game of Monday?s conference doubleheader, the Washington baseball team looked like a good bet to finish the sweep in impressive fashion.

The Demons enacted the 15-run mercy rule in Game 1 of the twinbill with Keokuk, routing the Chiefs 16-1 in four innings, but that success didn?t translate over to the second game.

A late Keokuk rally gave the Chiefs a 9-6 win over the Demons, forcing a split.

?For eight innings tonight, we played really good baseball,? Washington baseball head coach Nathan Miller said. ?We had the four innings of the first game, and the first four innings of the second game. In the top of the fifth, execution started to struggle, and that?s what it comes down to. Execution and making plays on defense went out the window, and that?s why we got beat.?

In Game 1, the Demons seemingly could do no wrong, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings to take a 6-1 lead, highlighted by a Noah Enfield first-inning triple.

A Keokuk error allowed another Demon run in the third inning, before a fourth inning that saw Washington hit their groove.

The Demons loaded the bases with no outs in the frame, and went on to plate nine runs in the inning, highlighted by two-run doubles from Zach Londberg and Michael Ellingson.

Enfield drove in the game-ending run with a single, putting the 15-run rule into effect.

?(The atmosphere) was outstanding,? Miller said. ?It was like that through the first four innings of the second game too, then adversity hit. When you have 14 juniors and two seniors, it should be relaxed, but at the same time we are focused and locked in on every pitch.?

Ellingson led the game with three RBIs in the contest, while Enfield notched three hits with two RBIs.

Ryan Loy and Londberg each had two hits and two RBIs in the game.

Londberg picked up the win on the mound, pitching all four innings and only allowing three hits and no earned runs, striking out five and walking none.

The second game started off well for the Demons, with a Dakota Kron RBI single to open the scoring in the first inning.

In the top of the second, the Demons found themselves in a jam, with Keokuk runners on second and third with no outs. However, in the next at bat, Kron made a diving catch in left field, and the Chief runner broke for home, looking to tie the game.

While Kron?s throw home was late, it was determined that the runner left third base too early, and a throw to third picked up the second out of the inning.

The runner on second was in no-man?s land between second and third base, and got caught in a rundown, which resulted in the third out, completing the 7-1-5-4-5 triple play.

The Demons took that momentum into the bottom of the second, when a Keokuk error allowed a run and a bases-loaded walk brought home another run.

Keokuk and Washington traded runs in the third, before Keokuk added a pair of runs in the fourth to make it  4-3.

The Demons re-extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth with Tanner Coleman and Colin Zear RBI doubles, but the Demons were silenced the rest of the game.

The Chiefs responded with three runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 6, off of a Demon error, and eventually took the lead on a two-run triple in the top of the sixth.

Keokuk added an insurance run in the frame, and it proved to be enough, as the Demons couldn?t get anything across the rest of the way.

?Physical errors are fixable and walks are physical,? Miller said. ?It?s a mindset thing. When they scored the first three runs, they were all based on walks. Then we mixed in an error, and they opened up the game and took the lead.?

The Demons committed three errors and walked four batters in the contest, making four of the nine runs given up unearned.

?(We) just need to throw strikes,? Miller said. ?It?s a mental thing. We?ve been watching them throw strikes. We have a 2:1 strikeout ratio, and only average 2.5 walks per game, but I?ll take that. It?s a mentality we need to gain. The tighter you get, the more balls you throw.?

The Demons will have a tall order on Tuesday when they resume play, as they take on No. 1 ranked Pella in a single varsity game. Miller hopes his team is able to bounce back from a tough second game on Monday.

?Turn the page from tonight,? Miller said. ?We need to execute. If you look at our wins and losses this year, in the wins, we executed very well. In our losses, we did not. I?ve not been able to say that anyone came out and rung us on hitting. Nobody has done that on us yet this year. If we play solid defense and throw strikes, we win.?

First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Washington.