Huskies top Demons on the diamond

The softball season officially kicked off on Monday across the state of Iowa, and in a nonconference matchup in Highland, the pitching stole the show.

Highland freshman Megan Hoenig took the circle for the Huskies, and held the Demons? young offense at bay throughout the night, earning the win with a 7-3 victory over Washington.

?What a great start,? Highland softball head coach Carrie Wieland said. ?She?s worked hard all winter long, and we knew good things would happen. We have to keep doing what we do. We are young and everything is a learning experience for us.?

For the Demons, freshman Molly Sparks impressed in the circle, entering the game in a tough situation.

The Huskies led 5-1, and had the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth inning when Sparks entered the game.

Sparks pitched the Demons out of the jam, giving up only one run, and held the Huskies to only one run the rest of the way.

?She did a great job,? Washington first-year head coach Ben Obermann said. ?We could have gone in a couple of directions there. In a 5-1 game, with the bases loaded and nobody out, she slammed the door. I wasn?t sure how that was going to go. That was big for us. She got out of that jam, and then we came back and put a couple runs on the board.?

The Demons? offense came alive in the top of the sixth, with a pair of infield singles from Mackenzie Knutson and Jessie Buchholz, who later came around to score on a Morgan Brinning groundout and a Highland error.

?It?s very encouraging, because this is a process,? Obermann said. ?We have a young team, and seeing those pieces come together, it?s going to take a while to figure out our lineup, get settled, but we were battling, and put ourselves in a position to compete.?

The Huskies didn?t let the Demons get closer, as they closed the door on the season-opening win.

Highland?s top three hitters in the order combined to go 6-for-12 in the game, with senior Cheyann Adamson notching a team-high three runs in the contest.

The Demons were led in hitting by Sydney Clark?s  2-for-3 night, while Brooke Stout notched an RBI triple in the second inning.

?We competed all seven innings,? Obermann said. ?We didn?t roll over and that?s tough for a young team. We believed in ourselves and if we continue with that mindset, things will turn the right way for us.?

Highland also competed on Tuesday night, routing Van Buren 12-2 in five innings, led by Murphy Beinhart?s two RBIs.

Washington will host Columbus at home at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.