Enfield, Demons power past Hawks

After making contact, Noah Enfield put his head down and kept running.

By the time he reached second base, he knew he could slow down a little bit.

?Right off the bat, I thought it was a regular pop fly or a line drive past the outfielder?s head,? Enfield said. ?I turned on the wheels and went. Once I saw everyone coming out, I knew it was gone. It was a great feeling.?

Enfield?s hit went over the left field fence for his first career homerun, a three-run blast, which highlighted an eight-run third inning.

The Washington baseball team finished the game in the fifth inning, claiming a 12-2 home win over Mid-Prairie on Tuesday night.

?We see (his power) in practice when we take batting practice,? Washington baseball head coach Nathan Miller said. ?For exit velocity in the cages, he?s in the upper 80s with his swing, so he has the capability to drive it. To hit one over the fence, you have to have a few factors in play. You have to have timing, a good attack angle and a good approach. Everything was good and he put a good swing on it.?

Enfield reached base in all three of his plate appearances, drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch, scoring a team-high three runs in the contest, and stealing two bases.

Michael Gier also notched three RBIs in the contest to match Enfield?s team high, coming on a hit and two walks, to combine with his strong pitching performance on the day.

Gier threw 62 pitches through four innings on the night, allowing two hits, and two runs, all coming off a two-run homer from Keaton Duwa in the first inning.

Gier struck out six and walked one in the contest.

?As soon as I got ahead in the count, I could throw off speed and keep everyone off balance,? Gier said. ?They didn?t know what was coming next.?

After Duwa?s two-run homerun opened the scoring in the top of the first, the Demons got on the board in the bottom of the second on an Aaron Vittetoe single, scoring Enfield.

After a scoreless top of the third, the Demon head coach wanted to see his team pump up their energy.

?We needed to get back to what gave us success early in the season,? Miller said. ?We had a good first week, and not that we?ve been playing poorly, but we have the sense of when they need a little pep. Early in the season we were really chatty and into it, so credit to the kids for stepping up and having a great inning.?

The bottom of the third opened with Gier and Ryan Loy (2-for-2, two RBIs) being hit by pitches, and Dakota Kron reaching base on a fielder?s choice.

Collin Zear drove in a pair of runs on a single, before Enfield sent his three-run shot over the left-field fence.

Cole Embree and Michael Ellingson both reached base, with Gier using a double to drive both seniors in, while Loy doubled to left to add another Demon run in the third.

?As soon as we start off early, and we can see we can get hits off the pitcher, it helps our momentum and confidence at the plate,? Gier said.

In the bottom of the fourth, Enfield walked, stole second and was later singled in by Vittetoe, while a bases-loaded walk from Gier added another run.

Loy notched a single with the bases loaded to put the Demons up by 10 runs, and three quick outs from Matthew Wheeler in the top of the fifth closed out the game for Washington.

?It was a team effort today,? Miller said. ?Aaron Vittetoe (2-for-3, two RBIs) and Michael Ellingson (2-for-3, two runs) really set the table for the top of the lineup today, and if you look at the box score, they scored several times.?

As the Demons move to 11-7 on the year, Miller stressed that the team still has room to grow, as they begin the second half of conference play on Thursday.

?We are playing for the postseason, and playing for a high seed,? Miller said. ?The better seed you get, the better opportunities you should have. We are progressing. We haven?t peaked by any means.?

The Demons will face Fort Madison on Thursday, and as the Demons prepare for a road doubleheader against the Bloodhounds, who they swept earlier in the year, they are confident.

?It feels good (to get the win),? Enfield said. ?We can definitely take two from Fort Madison, so that will help us moving forward.?

First pitch on Thursday is set for 5:30 p.m.