The Demon’s baseball team played like pros last night in the home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, beating Highland 14-2 in six innings.
Both teams started hot, with Mitch Riggen of the Huskies sending down the Demons in short order, and Matt Kuntz getting out of the inning with just one hit in four batters. The second inning was a different story, as Jake Redlinger stepped up and drove a ball to deep left center for a triple and after three costly errors by the Huskies, Washington managed to put three across the plate in the second. From there on out it was all Washington scoring two in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and six in the sixth.
Kuntz held the Huskies scoreless through four, and took the win for the team. He pitched 4 2/3 innings had two strikeouts, allowed two runs but only one earned. Jake Dickinson stepped up to finish up the game for the Demons.
Head coach Nathan Miller said Kuntz was consistent which helped him pitch well.
“We were able to throw some off speed pitches in there, and mix it in early in the inning because he was ahead in most of the counts,” Miller said. “We talked this week with our pitchers about throwing strike one, and challenging the hitters with the first pitch, and I thought he did a great job last night at getting ahead in the count.”
Redlinger went 3-4 with a couple of RBI’s and a homer short of the cycle, and Tanner Knupp went 1-3 with two walks and four stolen bases.
The Demons don’t get a break as they will go to Mt. Pleasant tonight for a doubleheader. Miller says it is one of the best rivalries in Iowa high school baseball, and is always a hard fought game despite how good the teams are.
“They’re a team that just battles and doesn’t stop at any point,” Miller said. “It’s a well coached team, they are historically a good baseball program, and the intensity tonight is high than any game that we’ve had, it’s post season intensity.”
Miller added that Mt. Pleasant has one of the best catchers in the league, and that base running will be something to watch tonight.