Raiders sink Demons? season

Things had started about as well as could be imagined for the Demons on Friday night.

A quick run on Williamsburg, the top seed of the Class 3A, District 9 postseason bracket, had Washington baseball riding high, but the Raiders quickly flexed their muscles in the middle of the game.

A six-run third inning pushed Williamsburg in front of the Demons, and the Raiders held on for the district-semifinal victory, winning 8-1 over Washington.

The loss ended the Demons? season with a 6-20 record for 2015.

?The most impressive thing (about this team),? Washington head coach Nathan Miller said. ?I never could tell that they wanted it over, or that they didn?t see a purpose. I?m sure in the back of their minds, about halfway through the season, they realized that this is a process. We may win a few games and we might lose a few games, but overall, the focus and the mindset was to just get over it.?

The Demons were young this season, featuring only one senior, Blake Weidman, who set a strong example for the rest of the team.

?He shows that when you commit to being a part of the program for all five years, by the time you are a senior, you are the most mature,? Miller said. ?You have the confidence to get things done. That?s what he has shown this team, is that if you stick with it, good things can happen.?

The Demons had that confidence early on in the game, as Michael Gier drew a leadoff walk on a full count to open the game.

A stolen base and a groundout pushed Gier to third base with one out, and Tanner Renoux came through with a two-out double that narrowly missed going out of the park, scoring Gier.

Washington carried that momentum to the defensive side of the game, cruising through the first two innings, giving up just one hit and sophomore starting pitcher Collin Zear striking out two.

The Raiders struck in the third inning, using a leadoff triple to help them load the bases with no outs. A two-run double gave the Raiders the lead and they never looked back, cruising to a six-run inning.

?It?s a matter of understanding how to pitch in tight situations,? Miller said. ?We made a couple of mistakes defensively, a couple of balls that should have been caught, and in that fourth inning, there were three infield singles. You take those away, and (Zear) did a tremendous job.?

Washington looked to respond in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with two outs, but a groundout ended the threat.

Williamsburg plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to round out the scoring, as the Demons only managed three hits in the game.

?We were ultra-competitive the entire time,? Miller said. ?We put pressure on them in the middle innings and they made some good pitches. We had some quick innings, and that was when they extended their lead. They have some good (pitching) and that?s why they are ranked.?

With the season over, the biggest key that the Demons couldn?t overcome was leaving too many runners on base, according to Miller.

?I was happy with (our offense),? Miller said. ?It just comes down to timely hitting. That was our Achilles? heel all year. We had lots of guys on base all year, but couldn?t find that one hit to break things open.?

As Miller looks ahead to next season, he figures to have a wealth of talent returning, losing only Weidman to graduation.

With three juniors, 13 sophomores and 10 freshmen figuring to return next year, a lot of competition for playing time can be expected among the team.

?There?s going to be a lot (of competition),? Miller said. ?We have a couple of freshmen that are quality players as well. The efforts they put in between now and next season, in basketball or football where they can learn those intangibles, or maybe a one-sport guy putting in work in the offseason ? There will be a lot of battles. We?ll have to do some evaluation.?