Demons drop Panthers in dead of night

MT. PLEASANT — Mapleleaf Athletic Complex was kept awake well past midnight by a marathon of a Washington-Mt. Pleasant baseball doubleheader. Both games of the over seven-hour affair went to the Demons, who won both in five innings, 23-8 and 21-10.

Each team scored three runs in a lengthy first inning, which was followed by a two-hour weather delay. When the contest picked up, it was all Demons.

“This has been a year where our pitching staff has put a lot of guys on base, so we’ve had a lot of late games,” said Washington head coach Nathan Miller. “It’s not a thing that’s new for us.”

Miller said his team kept a level head and cooled off during the break, but the Washington bats heated up when the game resumed. The Demons scored seven in the second and six in the third to take a 16-3 lead, and the game was never within single digits again.

Lucas Kroll went off in Game 1, leading Washington with a 4-for-5 performance, which included a triple and five RBIs. Ethan Patterson and Jacob Miller knocked in four runs apiece, and Reece Mayer went 2-for-4 with two triples.

Ethan Zieglowsky threw all five innings for the Demons and gave up seven earned runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out four.

Will Edeker and Trevor Wellington split time on the mound for Mt. Pleasant. Jack Johnson went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, and both Colton Hutson and Dalton Gardner finished with two RBIs.

In Game 2, not a half inning went by that didn’t see a run cross the plate. Washington’s offense stepped it up every frame, scoring two runs in the first, three in the second, four in the third, five in the fourth and seven in the fifth. Mt. Pleasant scored two in each of the first three innings, one in the fourth and three in the fifth.

“We put up 18 runs, so that part of the game is coming around,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Brent Broeker. “The problem is, we’re always chasing.”

Mayer was red-hot for the Demons in Game 2, going 5-for-5 with a triple, a double and six RBIs. Williams went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Zieglowsky was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, and Kroll went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Mt. Pleasant was led by Sawyer Carrasco, who had a couple of hits and two RBIs. Hutson drove in two more in the second game.

Washington’s Travis Leyden picked up the win, giving up just three runs (one earned) in two innings pitched.

Washington is now 6-4 in the SEC, sitting third after the first round of games. Mt. Pleasant is 1-9 in league play, tied with Keokuk for fifth place. On Monday night, the Panthers will welcome in Keokuk while Washington travels to second-place Fort Madison (8-2).