Demons split at weekend tourney

After earning a conference win on Thursday, the Washington softball team went to Oskaloosa for a pair of games.

The Demons opened up their weekend with a contest against a ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg team, who used their strong offense to take a 5-0 victory.

After that contest, the Demons took on PCM, Monroe, and used a walk-off hit from Brooke Stout to end the game, taking a 4-3 victory over the Mustangs.

?It?s nice to see,? Washington softball head coach Ben Obermann said. ?That?s been the story of the season. Some days we are solid offensively and other days we aren?t. That happens. As we get to the end of the season, it?s going to be about if we can get that clutch hit. That?s big for our confidence.?

Against Eddyville-Blakesburg, the Demons gave up five early runs, but shut things down for the final five innings, with Alexa Mitchell in the circle and pitching well.

?Eddyville is a very solid team and ranked in 2A,? Obermann said. ?After falling behind 5-0 in the first two innings, we really did a great job. Alexa Mitchell threw a nice game for us in the circle, and offensively we had two big opportunities. We had the bases loaded twice with one out, and couldn?t get those runs in. We were a hit or two from possibly breaking things open.?

In the second contest, Washington took a 2-0 lead before PCM stormed back for a 3-2 lead late in the game.

In the seventh, Washington tied the game up, and despite going to the final out, picked up the win with a hit by Stout.

?We were able to get the big hit in Game 2,? Obermann said. ?Taylor Dicks also came up big for us in the game, with two two-out RBI hits.?

The Demons will now prepare for a tough test on Monday, as they host Fairfield for a conference doubleheader.

The Trojans swept the Demons earlier this season, but Obermann has confidence in his squad to put out a strong outing.

?I think we?ve improved quite a bit,? Obermann said. ?Looking back at the first doubleheader in Fairfield, we gave up nine runs in the first inning of the first game, and eight runs in the first of the second game. It comes down to our pitchers throwing strikes and hitting their spots.?