Demons celebrate softball season

With a banquet and team awards Tuesday at the high school, Washington celebrated its best softball season since the Demons qualified for the state tournament in 2013 and finished 30-13.

Washington was 22-15 this season after a 17-22 record last year.

Varsity coach Ben Obermann talked about how important the parents are for a successful program. They put in time, travel and their parenting skills which makes a coach's job easier.

The concessions raised $4,500 which will be put to use in the program like the hitting facility and equipment.

'The girls are to be commended for their participation and commitment in a summer sport,” Obermann said. 'We had a grueling schedule but a great mindset. It is still hard for me to get over how the season ended because we were a state-tournament caliber club. The personalities on this team were a joy to be around.”

The wins and losses are a part of sports but Obermann enjoyed the fun his close-knit team had on rides to and from games.

'It was a privelge to coach the best kids around,” Obermann said.

The Demons led the Southeast Conference in runs, hits, walks, stolen bases, hit batters, on base percentage and batting average.

The Demon pitching staff set a Washington record in earned run average of 1.99, bettering the 2013 record of 2.34.

Another record, that is fairly new, was Kellie Dallmeyer's quality at bat percentage of 75, besting Morgan Brinning's last year's mark of 74 percent.

The Demons had just one loss of more than four runs. The run differential for the season was a plus 92.

'We turned a weakness into a strength by the end of the season limiting errors as our defense improved,” Obermann said.

Seniors Molly Sparks, Haylee Wilson and Carly Burlingame meant a lot to the coach.

'For them to stick it out all five years shows their commitment and they all had great personalities,” Obermann said. 'I know they are going to go on to do great things with their life.”

He mentioned a lot of high points in the season - Iowa City tournament, Creston tournament, both doubleheaders against Mt. Pleasant - but the high point was Wilson's walk-off home run against Ft. Madison.

Obermann was proud of the fact the Demons claimed the Distinguished Academic Award, which is a team grade point average of 3.25 or better.

Team awards that were voted on by the players went to: Burlingame - Coaches' Award, Sparks - Extra Inning Award, Kinsey Duwa - Competitive Award, Most Improved - Ava Turner, Defensive Player of the Year - Wilson, Offensive Player - Alexa Mitchell, Most Valuable Player - Kellie Dallmeyer.

Dallmeyer also was named to the All Southeast District Team.

Junior varsity coach Chris Linnekamp pointed out the freshmen/sophomore and junior varsity teams went a combined 24-9-1 and won the unofficial conference championship.

'The season went by quickly, which means it was fun and successful,” Linnenkamp said.