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Washington Evening Journal
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Demons to Dodge!
No. 10 Washington wins instant Classic regional final game at No. 4 Assumption
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
DAVENPORT — It seemed like every emotion a softball player could feel was poured out onto the field at St. Vincent Athletic Complex in Davenport on Tuesday night, almost as if they had been built up for the last five years.
The No. 10 Washington softball team, led by four seniors who have grown with the program, finally got to celebrate with a state banner after knotching a heart-stopping 6-4 comeback win over No. 4 Assumption in the Class 3A Region 5 title game.
“I don’t think words can describe it,” said Demon head coach Ben Obermann. “It’s just pure jubilation watching our girls celebrate. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Demons, which had played nearly perfect softball in the tournament thus far, found themselves with their backs against the walls, trailing 4-2 with just two innings left to finally make their dreams come true.
Washington had held a short-lived 2-1 lead after the top of the third, when both Ella and Colbie Greiner scored runs. Colbie Greiner’s double put both in scoring position with one out. Ella scored on an error, and Colbie came home on a squeeze bunt by Alyvia Anderson.
The Demons, however, found themselves right back in a hole after a handful of throwing errors helped Assumption put up three more in the bottom of the third inning. It could have been more, if it weren’t for freshman Makenzie Messer gunning out a run at home with a perfect strike to Anderson, who tagged out the runner just inches from the plate.
Despite a few promising innings, Washington needed to pick up the pace, down 4-2 after five. That’s when freshman Natalie Hartman gave the Demons a spark with a leadoff double, and eventually came around to score on Leighton Salazar’s dribbler down the first base line.
“It’s super nerve-wracking for sure,” said Hartman. “But it’s really nice to be able to have clutch moments in this game, and help the team out.”
A controversial call on what looked to be a steal by Salazar helped Assumption cling on to a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but with Leighton’s older sister Bella finding rhythm in the circle, the Demons would get another quality shot.
“She always brings the energy, no matter if she’s at first base or pitching,” Leighton Salazar said about her older sister. “We love to have her in the circle.”
Colbie Greiner led the top of the seventh inning off with a hot shot off the third baseman’s glove, which turned into another leadoff double. A walk to Anderson brought up Bella Salazar, who reached safely on a sneaky 3-1 bunt single, which loaded the bases with nobody out.
With one out and the bases loaded, the game fell into the hands of Messer, who stepped up to the plate in a pressure situation and delivered the biggest hit of the night, a blooper over the pitcher’s head which hit the dirt in between two diving Assumption players, and trickled away to score both the tying and go-ahead run.
“Oh my gosh, I was so nervous for that,” said Messer. “I hit the ball, and saw that she didn’t make the play, and I was so excited.”
Another freshman, Reagan Miller, delivered an RBI single up the middle to bring the Demon lead to 6-4, but the job wasn’t done yet. Assumption came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with the top of its order due up.
Bella Salazar helped herself out for the first out of the bottom of the seventh. Salazar reached out to snag a bouncer off the bat of the speedy leadoff hitter Sophia Caudle and fired it over just in time to start the inning off right.
Then, with one on and two outs, with the potential tying run at the plate, it was time for the younger Salazar to make the final play. A shallow flyball into left field was tracked down by the junior shortstop. Leighton Salazar made the difficult catch, and the celebration was on.
“It’s really full circle,” said Ella Greiner. “These girls, we’ve played together for so long. Getting to this moment our senior year is just crazy.”
The win advanced Washington to the Class 3A state tournament, where the Demons are the No. 7 seed. It’s the first state berth for Washington softball since 2013.
“It’s really cool, because it’s not something that Washington does very often,” said Cuddeback. “It’s really nice that our name will be up on the wall.”
Colbie Greiner finished the night 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Messer was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Ella Greiner walked three times, while Leighton Salazar, Miller and Anderson all brought in one run.
The Demons had nine total hits, five of them being doubles. Along with the two from Colbie Greiner, Leighton Salazar, Halle Cuddeback and Hartman all doubled in the victory.
The win was especially sweet for the four seniors who have helped build the team to where it is. Bella Salazar, Cuddeback and Ella Greiner all played varsity from eighth grade on, and Anderson joined the varsity squad as a freshman.
“We’ve worked so hard for this,” said Anderson. “It’s what we’ve worked on since our beginning years of softball, and it is so exciting to see.”
The Demons will now get their shot to show what they’ve got in Fort Dodge. Washington plays second-seeded Williamsburg on Tuesday at 10 a.m., and will play in either the semifinals or consolation round on Wednesday.
