Demons cruise in conference sweep

Things went about as well as possible for the Washington baseball team on Thursday night.

The Demons got their offense going, and held Fort Madison at bay all night, as Washington claimed a pair of victories, 17-6, 14-0 over the Bloodhounds for the conference sweep.

The victories put Washington at 13-7 on the year and 6-4 in the conference race.

?There?s a lot of positives that came out of Thursday,? Washington baseball head coach Nathan Miller said. ?Offensively, they are an OK team and we pitched really well last night. We struggled in the first inning, walked a couple of guys and gave up a couple of hits, but our pitching staff as a whole played well.?

Highlighting the offensive night for the Demons was junior Zach Londberg, who went 5-for-8 in the doubleheader, including going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and his first career homer in Game 1.

?I was just seeing the ball well, I guess,? Londberg said. ?I?ve hit the weight room a lot and I?ve been hitting the ball further. I?ve been waiting for (the homerun) forever. I knew I could hit one, I just hadn?t hit one out yet.?

Londberg?s three-run homer was one of the many highights for the Demons in a 17-6 win, which saw four other Demons notch at least three RBIs.

Michael Gier went 2-for-2 with three walks, driving in three RBIs, while Bryce Craff, Noah Enfield and Aaron Vittetoe all claimed two RBIs.

Enfield, Gier, Dakota Kron, Ryan Loy and Michael Ellingson all had a pair of hits in the game, as Washington notched 16 total base knocks in Game 1.

?Offensively, from start to finish, it was a line-drive fest,? Miller said. ?It was fun watching the kids, and they did all the little things well. We took extra bags, and hustled things out. I was proud of how they played.?

The second game was much of the same, with Collin Zear taking the mound and pitching a one-hit shutout in the five-inning ballgame.

Zear?s lone hit allowed came on the second-to-last batter of the contest.

?He really spotted his fastball well last night,? Miller said. ?We?d throw a couple away and bust a couple in, and we kept them off balance. He was in a zone last night. He had a no-hitter until a bloop with two outs. Otherwise he threw a nearly flawless game.?

Washington had 11 hits in the 14-0 victory, with Craff, Zear and Vittetoe each notching a pair of them.

Zear led the team with two RBIs in the game, with seven other Demons claiming an RBI on the night.

Jacob Hall led the Demons with three runs scored.

On the night, Washington hit seven doubles and struck out 14 Fort Madison batters.

?We are getting close to 40 doubles already this season, and I don?t think we had 30 last year,? Miller said. ?Our strikeouts by our pitching staff, we are over 100 this year, and we still have 15 games left in the regular season. That?s a credit to the kids? offseason work habit. They bought into our strength and conditioning program and it?s showing this year.?

The Demons went 4-1 over the week, and will turn their attention to a three-game week, kicked off by an important conference contest on Monday.

Fairfield, who swept the Demons in a pair of road contests earlier this year, will play a pair of games in Washington, as the Demons look to continue their strong season.

?It feels really good to be winning a lot of games this year, and it?s been helping us throughout the year,? Londberg said. ?We are really confident.?