Fourth of July weekend roundup

With the Fourth of July weekend in the books, numerous teams in the area are preparing for the softball postseason and the final week of the baseball regular season.

Nearly every area team was in action in the last few days, so it?s time to catch up with each team before the postseason begins.

Washington softball defeats Williamsburg

The Demon softball team used a pair of seventh inning runs to put themselves on top in a contest from Friday afternoon, knocking off Williamsburg 5-4.

The win puts the Demons at 10-23 on the season.

Washington mustered eight hits in the victory, with Megan Mitchell accounting for three of them, including a team-best three RBIs in the game.

Jessie Buchholz also notched a pair of hits with an RBI, claiming two stolen bases in the victory.

Taylor Dicks also had an RBI for the Demons, while senior Mackenzie Knutson notched a pair of runs.

Molly Sparks allowed four runs on eight hits in the first 4 1/3 innings, before Alexa Mitchell came in and gave up two hits to close out the game, earning the win.

Washington starts a busy week on Tuesday night, when they travel to face Central Lee, before making up a pair of games against Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Demons will open regional play against Maquoketa.

Washington baseball was scheduled to face Williamsburg on Sunday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, but rain caused the game to be canceled. Demon baseball will resume in Oskaloosa with a single game on Tuesday night.

Highland splits weekend contests

The Highland softball team was busy on Friday and Saturday, taking part in four contests over that span.

The Huskies (19-9) opened Friday by falling to Wapello 10-4, before defeating Winfield-Mt. Union 17-3, and in a weekend tournament at Alburnett, fell 2-4 to Independence and one-hit Regina in a 3-0 victory.

Highlighting the Huskie offense over the weekend was Kelsey Hora, who went a combined 12-for-16 in the four games.

The Friday split with Wapello and W-MU put Highland third in the conference and will mark the first time in recent memory that the Huskies haven?t won the Southeast Iowa Super Conference.

In the loss to Wapello, Hora accounted for two of the team?s four runs in the contest, before the Huskies got the bats going in the nightcap.

Against Winfield, Abbie Miller led the team with four RBIs, while Cheyann Adamson notched three hits and three RBIs.

Hora, Ali Stokes, Brylee Carolan and Sarah Schneider also claimed a pair of RBIs in the victory.

In the loss to Independence on Saturday, Adamson accounted for the lone Huskie RBI, before freshman Megan Hoenig one-hit Regina in a victory in the final game of the weekend.

The one hit Hoenig gave up came in the seventh inning, as she walked two and struck out six in the contest.

Highland received a first-round bye in the regional tournament, and will take on either Pekin or Van Buren on Wednesday night.

The Highland baseball team claimed a narrow victory over Winfield-Mt. Union on Friday night, using a pair of early runs to claim a 2-0 victory.

The Huskies didn?t record an RBI in the victory, but notched seven hits in the win, while the pitching staff combined for a one-hitter.

Brody Burton gave up one hit and four walks through five innings, while Chase Rath closed down the final two innings with no hits and two walks helping finish the win.

Billy Burton and Trey Lasek accounted for the two runs in the contest.

Highland will host Wapello in a makeup game on Tuesday night, and take on Keota on Wednesday night in a home contest.

IMS baseball and softball fall to Wapello

The IMS baseball team hosted Wapello on Friday night, but came away with a 6-2 loss, after the Indians scored four runs in the final two frames.

Justin Litwiller and Jacob Schmidt combined for four of IMS? seven hits in the contest, while Schmidt also accounted for an RBI.

Junior Drake Brezina went 1-for-3 with a run and three stolen bases in the game.

Brezina also pitched in the game, giving up six runs (none earned) on five hits and four walks, striking out six.

IMS baseball will take on Van Buren on Thursday to wrap up the regular season.

The IMS softball team also fell to Wapello on Friday night, suffering a 17-5 loss in four innings.

IMS kept things close after the first inning, trailing 4-3, but a seven-run second inning helped the Arrows claim the win.

Rubye Ney had a pair of hits in the game, along with Hannah Harris, who also led the team with two RBIs.

IMS will face Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday night, as they take part in first-round regional action.