Demons win three of four games at Muskie Softball Classic

No. 14 Washington won three of its four games at the Muskie Softball Classic in Muscatine this weekend, and was one miscue away from sweeping the competition.

In their final game of the weekend on Saturday, the Demons led host Muscatine, the third-ranked team in Class 5A, 4-3 with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. But a dropped pop fly allowed the Muskies to score the tying run, and they went on to win 9-4.

?Once the momentum swung on that one play, they were able to take advantage of that,? Washington head coach Angie Shrader said.

Other than that one play, though, Shrader was happy with how her Demons (17-7) played at the tournament.

?For the most part we had a good weekend offensively and defensively,? Shrader said. ?There was just one bad inning that made things look worse than they were in that Muscatine game.?

The Demons opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over Durant, the third-ranked team in Class 2A, on Friday.

Washington scored two runs right away in the first inning. Senior Kaitlin Buchholz doubled to bring home a run, and a run also scored when junior Stephanie Fishback grounded into a fielder?s choice.

The Demons pushed their lead to 3-0 in the third inning, but Durant (20-5) got a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame to pull within one. The teams both added a run, but Washington held on for the 4-3 win.

?They left the bases loaded in the fifth, had a runner on third in the sixth, and left the bases loaded in the seventh,? Shrader said. ?So we got out of some pretty tough situations.?

Junior pitcher Amber Linnenkamp worked her way out of those jams in the final innings. She threw four innings, allowing one run on seven hits. Junior Ashley Rausch got the win, though, allowing two runs on six hits in three frames.

Buchholz went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and senior Maddie Bohr went 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Junior Chayse Jaspering also was 2-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore Kolbi Breard had a single and an RBI, while senior Sammy Ellingson, senior Joni Erwin and Rausch each added a hit.

Washington then blasted Louisa-Muscatine 13-0 in three innings on Friday. The Demons scored 11 runs in the first inning, sending 16 batters to the plate in the frame.

?Their pitchers walked seven of us in that first inning,? Shrader said. ?Our girls did a very good job of being very patient at the plate and not swinging at poor pitches. And then we had some good hits. We had three singles and three doubles in that first inning.?

Rausch went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs against Louisa-Muscatine (1-16), and Bohr was 2-for-2 with three runs. Breard had a double and two RBIs, while Buchholz and Jaspering both had a hit and two RBIs. Fishback had a double and an RBI, and junior Addie Shive also hit a double. Ellingson had a hit and scored three times.

Bohr only faced 10 batters in three no-hit innings. She walked one batter.

The Demons continued rolling on Saturday morning in a 14-0 win over Davenport Central (0-18) in four innings.

?Walking batters and hitting batters was an issue for their pitchers,? Shrader said. ?We were patient and hit the ball extremely well. In our four innings we had 14 hits. We were patient until they gave us a pitch in the strike zone, and then we had a lot of doubles and triples.?

Buchholz had a monster game for the Demons, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs. Rausch went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, and Erwin was 2-for-2 with two doubles and an RBI. Bohr went 2-for-3, scored four times and drove in a run, and Fishback was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Ellingson had a hit, an RBI, and she scored three runs. Shive also chipped in a hit.

Rausch allowed just two hits over four scoreless innings. She struck out six batters and walked one.

Muscatine scored two runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday, but the Demons answered with two of their own in the bottom of the first. Ellingson singled and scored on Buchholz?s triple, and then Buchholz scored when Rausch grounded out.

The Muskies (24-3) regained the lead in the second inning, but the Demons scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Breard drove in a run with a double, and then Jaspering scored on Bohr?s single to put Washington ahead. But one mistake cost the Demons a chance to win the game.

?One miscue changed the momentum and gave them new life,? Shrader said. ?We were right there with them through 5 2/3 innings.?