Softball team splits doubleheader with Anamosa

The Washington softball team started off their season with doubleheader action against Anamosa Monday, May 22.

The girls were victorious in the first game 12-0, but lost the second game of the night by a 4-5 score.

It was all Washington in the first game as the girls went up 1-0 after Jessie Buchholz scored on a grounder in the first inning.

The girls immediate followed with their second run scored to end the first inning up 2-0.

The girls put up four more runs in the second inning adding to their lead.

Another four runs scored, putting the score at 10-0 after three. The final two runs of the game came from Halle Leyden, who scored on a hit from Buchholz, and Kellie Dallmeyer scored after a hit from Megan Mitchell.

Haylee Wilson and Dallmeyer both scored three runs in the game.

Alexa Mitchell scored two, and having one run apiece were Buchholz, Megan Mitchell, Morgan Brinning, and Leyden.

?This game served as kind of a blueprint of what we want to do game in and game out,? said coach Ben Obermann.

?We came out fast and the girls were locked in from the get-go. We did a great job of having a quality approach at the plate and staying disciplined.

?Our entire lineup had great at-bats and took what Anamosa gave us. I was very proud of our effort at the plate.

?Our approach at the plate was matched by outstanding pitching and defense, where we did not allow any free bases.

?Molly [Sparks] was excellent in the circle, and our defense made the routine play routinely. It was a great way to start the season.?

In the second game, Anamosa put up three runs in the first inning to Washington?s one. After Anamosa scored another run in the second, Washington tried to rally by scoring two runs, to put the score at 3-4.

The Demons would tie the game in the fourth, but Anamosa scored the pull-ahead run in the fifth and would hold on to get the win.

?Overall, we did not play poorly,? Obermann said of the second game. ?There were a couple small mistakes, one defensively and one offensively, that stood out and was the difference in the game, but that's going to happen from time to time with a young roster.

?After taking a step back and looking at the game as a whole, it was a great back-and-forth battle.

?In two games tonight, we only committed one error, and playing in close games early in the season will only help us for when it really matters come conference play.

?While we were definitely disappointed in the loss, the positives outweigh the negatives from our first night, and as coaches, we are very encouraged of what we saw.

?Our girls are competitors and are constantly going to compete.?

The girls next play at Columbus Wednesday, May 24, starting at 7:30 p.m.