Panthers force Demon split

It was rivalry night on Thursday at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex in Mt. Pleasant. The Washington and Mt. Pleasant baseball teams met for the first time this season. The Demons handed the Panthers their first SEC loss, 5-2, in the first game but the Mt. Pleasant offense exploded in the second game for a 9-1 win.

?In the first game, we played really, really well in all facets,? Washington baseball head coach Nathan Miller said. ?We ran the bases well, we had 13 hits in the game, Tanner Coleman pitched well, Colin Zear came in and got the save in the last inning. It was just a good all-around performance for the entire game.?

Washington got out to an early lead in game one with a run in the first inning. The Demons then added three in the top of the third to stretch the lead to 4-0 after 2 1/2 innings.

Mt. Pleasant was able to chip at the Demon lead with one of their own in the bottom of the third and one more in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2 after five innings, but Washington added an insurance run in the sixth inning to take a three-run lead.

Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mt. Pleasant was able to get runners on the corners with one out and the potential tying run at the plate. Washington closer Colin Zear was able to escape the jam, getting Mt. Pleasant?s Caleb Potts to ground into a game-ending double play.

Zach Londberg led the Demons offensively, going three for four with a triple and an RBI. Michael Gier was 2-4 with a triple, one RBI and two runs scored. Colin Zear was 1-3 with two RBIs and Ryan Loy was 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

?When you have 13 hits, everyone is producing,? Miller said. ?I was pleased with the overall effort, and in the second game, their pitcher was just on. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap when a pitcher is throwing well, and he was on last night. Had we not had the walks, it would have been a 1-0, 0-0 type of game.?

Tanner Coleman picked up the win in game one. He threw six innings, giving up two earned runs with five hits and five walks while striking out three. Zear earned the save with a no-hit seventh, allowing one hit and striking out one.

?Last night, (Tanner) had to mentally battle,? Miller said. ?He struggled to hit his spots a bit, but he still found ways to get himself out of innings. His curveball was the best it?s been all year, so we lived on that last night. We used it to set up the fastball.?

The Panthers didn?t waste any time in game two, scoring four runs in the first inning and two in the second to jump out to an early 6-0 lead. Washington scored their only run in the fourth inning but Mt. Pleasant added two in the fifth and one in the sixth to run away with the win.

Mt. Pleasant starter Dalton Shull threw a gem, going seven innings and giving up just one earned run on three hits and four walks while striking out nine.

The lone Demon RBI in game two came from Loy, who finished 1-3. Dakota Kron, who was also 1-3, came around to score on the play. Noah Enfield was the only other Demon to get a hit off of Shull.

Zear was tagged with the loss in game two, throwing one third of an inning and giving up four earned runs on three hits and four walks. Gier came in to pitch in the first and went 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk, while striking out five.

?In the second game, we just couldn?t get out of the gates,? Miller said. ?Colin struggled on the mound and walked four in the first inning, and Mt. Pleasant put a four-spot on us in the first inning and it was a difficult task from there. It wasn?t like they were raking, but we just weren?t throwing strikes. We ended up with eight or nine walks.?

Washington moved to 9-6 overall and 4-4 in the SEC and will host Mediapolis in a nonconference doubleheader on Monday, June 13, at 5:30 p.m. The Demons will follow that game up with a single game against Mid-Prairie on Tuesday, before a road conference doubleheader at Fort Madison.

?This is our third busy week in a row,? Miller said. ?We do that on purpose. We have enough arms to handle a five-game week, and I feel very confident that if we play well, that?s five games we can win.?